A World of Oneshots
by Stormfire76
Summary: 100 oneshots about the characters of PJO/HoO. There will be humor, tears, adventure, romance, and more! Ch.12: Insanity - When his skull ring goes missing, Nico is sure it will turn up eventually. But as more and more of his belongings disappear, he starts to wonder if maybe he didn't lose the ring. Maybe Tartarus just left him too insane to remember what he did with it.
1. Introduction

**So I've seen this challenge on a few authors' profiles, and I've always been impressed by the people who finished it. (Booklover 98 is one of them. Her drabbles are amazing.) I decided that maybe it would help me get more ideas for oneshots, so we'll see how that works out for me. :)**

**Basically, the challenge is to write 100 oneshots or drabbles that follow the themes. They can be about anyone in the world of PJO (and HoO). If you have an idea for one of the prompts, I'd be glad to hear it, but I can't guarantee I'll do it. :D I think that's about it... Oh, and just so you know, I have a story for the prompt "Introduction" at the bottom of this because the challenge is to write ****_100_**** stories, and I feel like it's cheating if I don't do one for this chapter.**

**I tried to do Calyco (Nico and Calypso)... You can be the judge of how well I succeeded. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO... Unfortunately... XD**

* * *

**_1. Introduction_**

**_2. Love_**

**_3. Light_**

**_4. Dark_**

**_5. Seeking Solace_**

**_6. Break Away_**

**_7. Heaven_**

**_8. Innocence_**

**_9. Drive_**

**_10. Breathe Again_**

**_11. Memory_**

**_12. Insanity_**

**_13. Misfortune_**

**_14. Smile_**

**_15. Silence_**

**_16. Questioning_**

**_17. Blood_**

**_18. Rainbow_**

**_19. Gray_**

**_20. Fortitude_**

**_21. Vacation_**

**_22. Mother Nature_**

**_23. Cat_**

**_24. No Time_**

**_25. Trouble Lurking_**

**_26. Tears_**

**_27. Foreign_**

**_28. Sorrow_**

**_29. Happiness_**

**_30. Under the Rain_**

**_31. Flowers_**

**_32. Night_**

**_33. Expectations_**

**_34. Stars_**

**_35. Hold My Hand_**

**_36. Precious Treasure_**

**_37. Eyes_**

**_38. Abandoned_**

**_39. Dreams_**

**_40. Rated_**

**_41. Teamwork_**

**_42. Standing Still_**

**_43. Dying-_**

**_44. Two Roads_**

**_45. Illusion_**

**_46. Family_**

**_47. Creation_**

**_48. Childhood_**

**_49. Stripes_**

**_50. Breaking the Rules_**

**_51. Sport_**

**_52. Deep in Thought_**

**_53. Keeping a Secret_**

**_54. Tower_**

**_55. Waiting_**

**_56. Danger Ahead_**

**_57. Sacrifice_**

**_58. Kicked in the Head_**

**_59. No Way Out_**

**_60. Rejection_**

**_61. Fairy Tale_**

**_62. Magic_**

**_63. Do Not Disturb_**

**_64. Multitasking_**

**_65. Horror_**

**_66. Traps_**

**_67. Playing the Melody_**

**_68. Hero_**

**_69. Annoyance-_**

**_70. 67%_**

**_71. Obsession_**

**_72. Mischief Managed_**

**_73. I Can't_**

**_74. Are You Challenging Me?_**

**_75. Mirror_**

**_76. Broken Pieces_**

**_77. Test_**

**_78. Drink_**

**_79. Starvation_**

**_80. Words_**

**_81. Pen and Paper_**

**_82. Can You Hear Me?_**

**_83. Heal_**

**_84. Out Cold_**

**_85. Spiral_**

**_86. Seeing Red_**

**_87. Food_**

**_88. Pain_**

**_89. Through the Fire_**

**_90. Triangle_**

**_91. Drowning_**

**_92. All That I Have_**

**_93. Give Up_**

**_94. Last Hope_**

**_95. Advertisement_**

**_96. In the Storm_**

**_97. Safety First_**

**_98. Puzzle_**

**_99. Solitude_**

**_100. Relaxation_**

* * *

**1. Introduction**

Nico woke up to see a gray ceiling studded with precious stones. His first thought was that Hazel had been busy. But he didn't think his sister would have decorated _anything_ with jewels. She hated her curse too much.

He started to get up so he could explore, but his leg turned to fire when Nico tried to put weight on it. Cursing, he fell back into bed. A breeze wafted across his face, bringing a glass of nectar with it. An _aura_. Nico reached out his left hand (his right felt like lead) and took the cup, downing the drink that tasted like the shrimp risotto his mother had made seventy years ago and always made him want to cry. Where _was_ he? Before Nico could worry about it too much, he was asleep again.

For once, Nico didn't dream of his lost sister Bianca, or the Titan War, or Tartarus, or Ephialtes and Otis, or the Doors of Death. He didn't even have a god visit him to warn him about the upcoming battle in Greece, or the civil war between Greeks and Romans. He just slept. For the first time in years, Nico didn't dream. It was incredibly refreshing.

In the morning, he woke up feeling like he had actually gotten enough rest. His right hand still felt like lead, and his leg like fire, and his back like putty, but at least he had slept decently.

Another invisible _aura_ drafted into the room. Nico cautiously lifted himself into a sitting position. "Hello," he called out uncertainly. "Where am I?"

The _aura_ didn't answer, but it lifted the sheets off his bed and supported him with a warm breeze as he stood, wobbling. He was surprised – and a bit unnerved – to find himself dressed in nothing but white drawstring pants and white bandages that wrapped around his torso. He hadn't worn white since Bianca had died. In fact, he hadn't worn any color but black, dark brown, and dark blue since then. It almost made him feel like he was betraying Bianca's memory by wearing white, but he quickly dismissed the thought. She would probably be _happy_ with the color choice, even though Nico wasn't. Nevertheless, Nico was still confused. What had happened to his old clothes?

The breeze started to nudge him forward, but Nico cried out in pain when he accidentally put weight on his bad leg. His vision blurred, and he collapsed. The wind wrapped around him and deposited him in a chair, but Nico was too in pain to thank it. Vaguely, he heard the sound of pattering feet and a gentle voice, although he couldn't quite make out any words. Hands felt his injuries and fed him something creamy. Gradually, his vision cleared, and he could see the caramel hair that outlined the tan skin that surrounded kind brown eyes.

"I'm sorry about Angela," the girl said. "I just told her to check on you, but she can get a bit… overenthusiastic sometimes. When you sat up, she assumed that you were ready to explore and pushed you too hard."

"It's fine, don't wo–" He stopped abruptly. His voice sounded rougher than usual, almost strangled.

The girl hesitated. She looked about his age, maybe a year older. "What happened to you, hero?" she asked softly. "You fell out of a tree on my island…" She suppressed a smile. "Right onto my lunch table."

Nico winced. He was starting to remember everything that had just happened to him… Why he had been forced to shadow-travel – to _anywhere_, as long as it was far away – and why so many parts of him ached.

She looked concerned. "Did I offend you? Of course, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to…"

Nico shook his head and sat a little straighter. "No, it's all right. It's just… There's a war with the giants and Gaea going on, and I got hurt really badly during one of the battles, and that's why I shadow-traveled away and ended up… wherever this is, and I don't know how my friends are doing. Hazel, Leo, Jason, Piper, Frank, Annabeth… Especially Percy…"

The girl's eyes widened. "Percy Jackson?"

Nico frowned uncertainly. "Do you know him?"

She barely heard him. "I didn't think I would hear that name again," she whispered. "Even after the end of the Second Titan War…"

Nico's frown deepened. He started to think about how this person might know Percy… And how she could have a private island… And why the end of the Second Titan War might mean so much to her… A suspicion started to form in his mind. "Who are you?"

The girl looked at him and smiled. "I'm sorry, I should have told you earlier. My name is Calypso."

* * *

Nico's head spun. He had… He was on Ogygia? "But I thought the gods freed you from here!" he blurted.

Calypso laughed, like tinkling bells. "They did. But this is still my home. I love to travel, to see what the world is like now – to see if what Percy told me about it is true – but at the end of the day, this is a beautiful place to live. It is sunny, and peaceful, and has plenty of room to garden."

Nico was still stunned. He had heard the story of Percy's miraculous reappearance at camp after blowing up Mount St. Helens. Percy had never told anyone where he had been, but some – including Nico – had guessed that it was Ogygia. Nico knew basically how the island worked. Calypso lived on Ogygia, and sometimes – every thousand years, approximately – someone in need of healing during a war, or a quest, or some other important event, appeared here. Calypso helped them and then sent them back to their lives, albeit a little sadly. But not just anybody landed on Ogygia. _Heroes_ were the ones who made their ways here accidentally. And if Nico knew one thing, he was not a hero.

"Is the island different now?" he asked suddenly. "Now that your curse is broken? I mean… can _anyone_ come here?"

Calypso looked confused. "Why do you ask?"

Nico reddened slightly. "Well… It's the only explanation for how I ended up here. Because I'm no hero."

Calypso laughed again. "The only people who ever arrive here are the _aurae_, myself, and heroes. So I think you are greater than you believe you are. But tell me, hero, do you have a name?"

"Nico," he got out, shaking her hand. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

"Nico," she said, testing it out. "Now that we're introduced, would you like to have a tour of the island? I have a wheelchair," she added, before he had to ask and embarrass himself.

He nodded mutely, and she left – presumably to find said wheelchair. Nico collapsed back into his chair in surprise. Percy had come here, two years ago. _Percy Jackson_. The greatest mortal of the modern age, the savior of Olympus, the most powerful demigod Nico had ever met.

Nico wasn't worthy to be in the same position as a guy like Percy Jackson. He had fumbled with both sides of the war before figuring out who the good guys were. He had held grudges, suffered loss, and made countless mistakes. He wasn't a hero.

But somehow, he was still here. He was on Ogygia with a girl so beautiful and kind, Percy Jackson had been tempted to stay here forever. And that girl had just introduced herself to him, and acted like they would be friends. And she was amazing. And she was Calypso. And over the next week, Nico found that that introduction would be the beginning of something he hadn't ever imagined would happen to him.

He was a son of Hades. He didn't _have_ good luck. But when Calypso kissed him nine days later, right before Nico had to leave and travel back to his friends (although at least _he_ could promise to come back as soon as possible, unlike the heroes before him), Nico felt like the luckiest guy in the universe.

* * *

**Any thoughts?**


	2. Love

**And this is the second prompt... Maybe slightly better than the first...**

**Disclaimer: I'm don't own any PJO characters. And especially not goddesses. They're a little hard to buy on eBay.**

* * *

**2. Love**

Athena never felt love. Even when she bestowed intellectually-gifted children on mortals she found favor with, she never really _loved_ them. She just appreciated their mental prowess and thought they deserved children. And her children – well, she was just _rather fond_ of them. Love was foolish. Love was not wise. It was not fitting for the goddess of wisdom to feel such a ridiculous, flighty emotion.

Poseidon, however, was the god of oceans and the god of earthquakes. It was in his nature to be… flighty. So was Athena surprised to find that he had fallen in love with a mortal and had broken his oath, creating a child that they feared would fulfill the Great Prophecy? No. She had suspected that it would happen, sooner or later. Athena was cold and calculating, and in her wisdom, she had allowed for such an occurrence.

But she had never thought that her daughter would experience that _very_ emotion Athena felt was beneath her and all her children. Annabeth, of all her children! Athena had believed Annabeth to be the _least_ likely to fall prey to such a silly thing as love. But somehow, her daughter had – and with the very child destined to take part in a prophecy that only foretold his doom! It was simply ridiculous that Annabeth had allowed herself to fall in love with a boy meant to die on his sixteenth birthday. And yet… and yet, she had. The daughter of wisdom turned out to be not so very wise at all.

Still, though, Athena found herself unable to be angry with her foolish daughter. Annabeth loved the boy, and Athena, despite all her misgivings, was beginning to wonder if it was such a bad thing after all. Was it really so wrong for demigods to revel in the foolish emotions that made them half-human? After all, Poseidon's son had never really _hurt_ Annabeth – he had in fact just _saved_ her from another boy she'd once loved who had turned on her. And now all the Olympians were calling a vote to see if the boy should die, and she had suggested the notion in the first place, and Annabeth was looking at her with what verged on _hatred_ in those gray eyes, and Athena had to decide if the boy Annabeth loved should be killed.

She was torn by the pain she knew her daughter would feel, but in the end, she voted for the boy's death. Because she did not feel love or compassion, but only acted in the name of wisdom – and the boy _was_ a threat. But when Athena found herself in the minority, and the boy's life was spared, she realized that she was not angry with the Olympians for making such a glaring tactical error. In fact, she was… she was _happy_ for her daughter! The boy would die in less than two years anyway, and his death could be the downfall of them all, but Athena was _glad_ that Annabeth would have more time with Poseidon's son, despite her misgivings concerning their relationship, because she didn't want her daughter to feel the pain of losing him. Was this what love felt like? Did Athena _love_ her daughter? Perhaps even the goddess of wisdom could feel the flighty emotion known as love.

* * *

**Next story's prompt is Light.**

**Any thoughts?**


	3. Light

**Wow, I'm really on a posting spree today. I must be insane. :P**

**Anyways, this oneshot is kind of... darker. Ironically, because the prompt is Light. It does have a happy(-ish) ending, though... Also ironically, the next prompt is Dark, and that one is (I think) pretty funny. **

**So, getting back on track... Read and review please! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Okay, I've posted three chapters in the last five minutes, and I haven't been Rick Riordan in the last two. What would make anyone think that's changed?**

* * *

**3. Light**

There was no light in this place. Chris ran through the endless passageways in absolute terror, holding his sword tight in his hand, the only thing in this place he was sure was real. He heard strange noises, but he wasn't sure if they were monsters or just his heavy breathing. Also, he thought that lately he'd been mumbling to himself. He wanted to laugh at his foolishness, at his childish fear, but instead, he found himself curled into a ball in the middle of a dirt tunnel, muttering and sobbing. Chris was losing his mind, and he knew it.

And then it occurred to him, to that small part of his brain that was still functioning normally, that maybe – _if he could just find some light_ – then everything would be okay. Even just a flashlight – or flashlight batteries, because Chris thought he might still have his flashlight, though its feeble beam had faded what felt like years ago. _If he could just find some light_, then he could find – dare he hope for it? – an _exit_. And then he could stop being scared. Clinging to this small hope, Chris uncurled himself and started running again, taking random twists and turns, promising himself that he'd find light – somehow.

For a long time, Chris sprinted through total darkness, trying to squash his panic by promising himself that _around the next turn_ there would be light. But there never was, and that scared Chris. _What if he never found any light?_ As soon as that thought occurred to him, Chris's thin cover of sanity cracked. He had to fight extra hard to keep moving. He knew that if he didn't find light soon, his glass sanity would break entirely, and then all hope would be lost. And Clarisse would kill him, but that wasn't important at the moment.

But then… but then… just as his sanity cracked a little more, _Chris saw light._ At first, he didn't believe it. It was just another hallucination. But as he ran towards it, and it grew brighter and stronger, he allowed himself to believe that _the light was real_. He started crying again, in joy this time, and in anticipation that he would find light, and then he would find an _exit_. He was laughing and crying and running blindly towards the light, and he knew that anybody watching him would think he was more insane than ever. But Chris knew the truth. For once, he felt totally and completely sane. It was invigorating.

Then Chris found the source of the light. It was a huge cavern awash in a glow that had been denied Chris for what felt like forever. His eyes were so unused to being able to see that he was blinded for a minute, but that was okay, because _he'd found light, and it was real_. The vague whiteness that Chris could just make out in the slits his eyes had become was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. In his ecstasy, he forgot caution. Caution – the only thing that kept you alive in the Labyrinth. "_I found you!_" He screamed it out in pure happiness – and then the world tipped sideways.

It was the barest sound that saved Chris's life. All that time in darkness had heightened Chris's other senses, so he could hear the faint scrape that meant an _empousa_ was dragging her automaton leg just a bit. He swung his sword blindly in the direction of the noise, and he felt it connect solidly with the demonic cheerleader. A second later, he felt the dust that meant the _empousa_ was gone. He didn't blame the light for that first monster – he blamed his foolish cry of joy. But then – _finally, finally _– his eyes adjusted to the brightness, and what he saw shattered his cracked, glass-thin sanity totally and completely.

The light came from a hole in the roof of a huge cavern. And this huge cavern contained at least fifteen bloodthirsty monsters that would love to kill Chris. The light was a trap – Chris could hardly believe it, _a trap_ – meant to lure unsuspecting demigods to a horde of monsters. And Chris had fallen for it.

He spent a long time fighting those monsters, crying in desolation the whole time. The tears blurred his vision, but that was okay because he didn't want to see anyways. He didn't want to see his light – his hope – betraying him. So he fought blinded, the way he'd fought most of his battles in the Labyrinth. And when all the monsters were gone, when Chris finally registered that the fight was over, he deserted the light and ran gratefully into darkness once more. Because he _knew_ the darkness hated him – he didn't feel betrayed when _it_ hid monsters in its depths. So he took refuge in the darkness, not noticing as the fragments of reason in his brain slowly slipped away, until there was only one shard left. If that shard disappeared, all hope would be lost for Chris – but he didn't care, because _who wanted sanity anyway?_ It only brought pain. Just like light brought torture.

One day, Chris was huddled in the corner of another cavern – dark this time – rocking back and forth and crying out hoarsely, "Run! Mary! Run! They're coming for you! _Mary! Run!_ NO! MARY!" He thought he might have known who Mary was a long, long time ago – unless she was never real after all – but by now, she was just a name to scream out into nothing. It alerted monsters to his presence, but Chris didn't care. He was at the point where he would still fight any monster that attacked him – but if it won, well, Chris would accept death gratefully. He was beginning to think it was better than this tortured existence.

And then, out of the silent darkness that felt like it was crushing him, Chris saw a light. Instinctively, he started backpedaling on the ground, but it had been days since he'd bothered to eat, and he was too weak to move quickly. The light gained on him, drawing ever nearer until Chris realized that the light had a voice. "Chris? Chris? _Chris?_ WHERE ARE YOU?" In the back of his mind, in that last shard of reason, Chris thought that he might recognize that voice, but he was too busy screaming to pay that bit of sanity any attention.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! NO LIGHT! NO LIGHT! _NO LIGHT!_" He yelled it over and over in a kind of blind panic until the plea was only a raspy whisper. The light had come for him, the light wanted to kill him, the light would betray him, the light would destroy him… But then the light answered him.

"Okay," it soothed. "No light." And the light disappeared. But that didn't make sense, because if the light was gone, then why was it still walking towards him, and why did that voice seem _so familiar_? That's when Chris realized that light didn't walk, and that behind the light must've been another person – _a person_; Chris hadn't seen another person in _ages_ – and hey! If he could understand that, then maybe he wasn't completely gone after all. Yes, Chris realized that – but only in that small shard of reason. The rest of him was still pumping adrenaline into his blood, until he lashed out blindly at the noise of footsteps.

"Chris? Chris? What are you doing, Christopher Rodriguez? _I am trying to help you!_" The voice was stronger than him. Before long, he was trapped, ensnared by this bringer of light. But he was not wrapped in ropes or chains – no, Chris was bound in a hug by the arms of a person. And a very familiar person at that. In fact, _he knew this person_. And for an instant – a very brief instant, but it was still there – that small bit of sanity took over.

"Clarisse?" His real voice was much less terrifying than the hoarse croak of insanity. "Is that you? _Clarisse_?"

"Chris?" Clarisse hugged him tightly. "Oh, Chris, I can't believe you're alive. It's me, Chris, it's me, yes, it's Clarisse."

"Oh, thank the gods," Chris said, just before his small shard of sanity was overruled by terror again. "I missed you." And then he reverted to the shivering, panicky person that the Labyrinth had changed him into. But that piece of reason was still there, whispering somewhere in the darkness of his mind. It was shining brightly. _Maybe not all light is bad, _it said. After all, this light had brought him Clarisse.

* * *

**Like I said, happy-ish ending...**

**Any thoughts?**


	4. Dark

**I've updated all my other stories today, so why not this one? :) To anyone who cares, have a chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Je ne suis pas Rick Riordan. (Oooh, the disclaimer is French! :D)**

* * *

**4. Dark **

It was a dark day in Camp Half-Blood's long history.

The Stoll brothers were on a pranking _mission_:They'd made a list, and no one – demigod, mortal, or monster – could stop them from completing it. As one o'clock rolled around, they were happily looking at the checks that marked their various successes.

Nico's hair had mysteriously turned hot pink while he slept, and no matter how much dye he used, it _refused_ to go back to its normal ink-black color.

Percy was hiding in his cabin to get away from the Aphrodite girls and tree nymphs that were swarming him.

Annabeth would've done anything to go help him, but when she stepped out of _her_ cabin door, an extremely thick book flew out of nowhere, and she had to duck to avoid a nasty concussion.

Nyssa's favorite hammer was encased in a giant block of Jell-o, and the second she'd seen it, she'd run out of that workshop like she was being chased by fifty hellhounds. No one knew how the Stolls had found out about her pathological fear of wiggly half-liquid orange solids.

And that was just the beginning. Connor and Travis happily went down the list, high-fiving each other and laughing whenever they came across a particularly good one.

"Ha, that was a great idea, Travis! Will never saw it coming!"

"Lou Ellen will have nightmares for a week, dude!"

"Not even Chiron can stop us now!"

"Connor, this is _epic_. Before you know it, we'll be-" And then Travis stopped abruptly, staring at something on the paper.

"What? Did I write down something without your approval? Did we skip one? Did we – Oh." Connor finally realized what Travis was looking at. The last line on the page read, _Put worms in all of Katie's siblings' hair so that they come crying to her and she's too busy to stop us. And if that doesn't work, throw a stink bomb in her cabin_. "We should've put that first, huh? She's been yelling at us for like the last _hour_. We'd better get on that." Connor stood up.

Travis snapped out of it. "What? No, that's not what I-"

Connor sighed. "Okay, yes, if you _really_ want to, I'll let you carry this one out alone."

"No, man, you don't get it!" Travis jumped up too, so that he stood an inch or so taller than the younger Stoll brother. He looked down at him angrily for a second; then he abruptly turned around so that Connor couldn't see his face. This confused the younger Stoll brother. It was not normal Travis behavior.

"What? What is it, then? I know it's not that original, but by the time I got to Katie my genius was running a little low, and it _will_ get the job done…"

"No, no, _no_, you're _wrong_. It's… The prank isn't the problem, Connor. It's the person we're _pranking_."

Connor didn't get it at first. And then the truth sank in all at once. He grabbed Travis's shoulder and spun him back around, staring at him searchingly. He didn't like what he saw and stumbled backwards in shock, falling onto a lower bunk. "No, no, no, _this cannot be happening to me_…" He put his head in his hands. "Why do dynamic duos never last? Fred and George: Fred died. Batman and Robin: Robin died. I always thought I'd be the one to break this one – die heroically while fighting ten drakons at once or something. But this… _this_ is stone-cold _betrayal_. How could you _do_ this to me, Stoll?"

"It's not the end of the world, dude!" Travis pleaded. "I'm still perfectly capable of pulling pranks. Give me Harley, or Malcolm, or Clarisse, or – heck, give me _all_ of the Hunters of Artemis at once, and I'll hit them so fast they'll never see it coming. It's just _Katie_, Connor. We just have to lay off _Katie_."

"And her entire freaking _cabin_, Stoll! That drops like a _third_ of our material!"

"Then we'll just have to modify the material." Connor hated how calm Travis was being about the whole thing. Stolls were only this stubborn when they were _sure_. Connor didn't want Travis to be _sure_. He wanted Travis to be easily persuaded into changing his mind. Stubborn was bad. Stubborn was _really_ bad.

"Come on, man. You can't do this to us. We have a _reputation_ to uphold! We can't just lay off an entire _cabin_!"

"Maybe I don't care about our reputation anymore!" Travis yelled. "Maybe I don't care if our reputation changes! Maybe I don't care if I think Katie is the greatest girl in the world and _I like her!_ _I like her, Stoll!_" He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, slightly quieter, "There, I said it. I like her, Connor, and there's nothing you can do to change that."

Connor almost wanted to cry. Travis Stoll – half of the greatest pranking team in Camp Half-Blood history – _liked_ Katie Gardner. He liked one of their main targets.

These were dark days indeed.

* * *

**Next prompt is Seeking Solace, featuring - who else? - Will Solace. :) I couldn't resist.**

**Any thoughts?**


	5. Seeking Solace

**Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! :D I'm just sad that some of you are guests, so I can't PM you and thank you personally... I guess this author's note will just have to do. :)**

**I'm pretty proud of this one... I mean, just this chapter will _triple_ the length of this story, and also I love the pun in the prompt title, so... :D Anyways, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not Rick Riordan, so I don't own most of the characters in this... But I own Jess! Yay! I own her! I own ****_something_****! That makes me almost as happy as reviews do... ;)**

* * *

**5. Seeking Solace**

"It's been a long day," I say. "And a hard one. Don't try to make me feel better, Will. It won't work."

"If you didn't want my help, then why did you come looking for me?" He rolls his eyes.

"I came looking for you because I needed someone to rant to," I complain, glaring at him. "But if you want, I can go back to my cabin and start shooting spells at my pillow just to see what will happen."

He grabs my arm. "Oh, no, Jess. We don't want a repeat of last time. Just talk to me – rant, if you want to. I promise not to be sarcastic."

I glare harder. "Really?"

"Yes," he sighs, looking down at the ground, a hundred feet below us. "Just… get on with your rant, okay? The ground is a little too far away for my taste."

"Does Willy have the willies?" I laugh, nudging him. He glances anxiously down again, and I laugh harder.

"That's not even funny, Jess." He's glaring at me now. "Now stop turning the conversation around to me. What's bothering you?"

My laughs die out immediately. I don't want to talk about what's bothering me. But I can't back out now. I'll have to talk about it sooner or later, and I owe it to Will after dragging him up here. I look away. "It's Sherman."

His annoyance immediately turns to anger directed at Sherman instead of me, and he moves instinctively to grab his bow and arrow. I snatch his arm and hold it tight. "Hang on, Solace. I'm not done ranting yet. You can shoot that son-of-a-gorgon later."

He relaxes and uses his free hand to hold my other one. "He's a son of a gorgon now? I thought only _I_ called him that." He leans in a little closer, peering at my face worriedly. "What did he do this time?"

Despite myself, I feel tears welling up in my eyes and blink furiously, refusing to let them show. "He… he… He can go to _Hades_, Will! I saw him… I'd gone over there to practice a spell without blowing something up for once, and he was just… there… with… with… with some Aphrodite girl, freaking _kissing_ on the freaking beach!" I'd planned on being angry, but as I get more and more worked up, I feel the tears run down my face anyway. "He freaking _cheated_ on me, Will! And so… I stormed over there… and the Aphrodite girl was really apologetic when she realized that… _I_ was supposed to be with Sherman, not her! She didn't know… she hadn't known… Sherman hadn't told her! I'm not mad at _her_ – she's just some average ditz. But Sherman… Sherman…" I curse a few times and put my head in my hands, shaking a little. Will wraps his arms around me and I lean against his shoulder, still sobbing uncontrollably.

We sit like that for a while, but then he says suddenly, "Watch it, Jess. You're _smoking_ on me." I look down and manage a sort of choked sob-laugh when I see the purple smoke curling off my fingertips. I clench my hands into fists, and the smoking stops.

"Good thing you noticed, Solace," I get out through hiccups. "This emotional Hecate-child would've burned down this tree if it wasn't for you."

"That's what I'm here for, Jess," he says, hugging me tighter. "I wouldn't want you setting your hair on fire again."

I blush. The other daughters of Hecate got their powers working properly _ages_ ago. But I, Jessica The-Super-Klutz, still can't seem to separate my feelings from my magic. If I'm happy, bright yellow sparks shoot out of my hair. If I'm mad, I start smoking purple, and if I get angry enough, I can start fires. And if I'm sad and upset… well, then it's anybody's guess what will happen.

"Sherman should've known better than to mess with you, Rivers," Will laughs, letting go of me so that the hug doesn't get awkward. "You could turn him Smurf-blue while he's asleep."

"Don't give me any ideas," I say, wiping away a few stray tears and grinning. "I might just make them reality by accident."

Will shrugs. "That idiot deserves it, Jess. I say, go for it."

I laugh, forgetting about being upset for a minute, and punch him in the arm. "Maybe, Solace. But don't blame me when I tell Chiron it was all your idea." And then I jump off the tree.

"Jess? Jess!" He looks down frantically, glaring when he sees me floating gently to the ground.

It takes him fifteen minutes to get down the old-fashioned way. "Sometimes I hate you, Jess."

I nudge his arm with my elbow. "And sometimes, you've just got to love me." Then I wink, smirk, and run off, Will Solace close behind me.

"This is _so_ unfair! Why do _you_ always get the head start?"

* * *

"Will? Can I talk to you for a sec?" I sigh, put my bow away, and walk out of the archery range.

"What is it, Jess?" She bites her lip, grabs my arm, and drags me across the green and into the armory. I ignore the weird looks from my brothers and sisters and simply raise an eyebrow at her as she locks the armory door behind us. "Okay. What's wrong this time?"

She sinks down and leans against the door. "Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Everything's just peachy. Oh yeah. Not a care in the world. Why should I be upset because I can't control my magic half the time? Or because I'm still hopeless with any form of weaponry, even though I've been here over a year? Why would that make me upset? No, I'm just fine."

I walk over and sit next to her, holding her hand so she knows I'm there (her head's buried in her knees). "Is that why we're in the armory?"

She nods, and when she talks, her voice is muffled. "I just… I need to find something I'm actually _good_ at."

I tilt her head up, forcing her to look at me. "Jessica Rivers, there are _plenty_ of things that you're good at."

She glares at me. "Like what? List _three_ things."

"That's easy. Sarcasm and humor and being awesome."

She rolls her eyes, but I see a hint of a smile peeking out of her expression and grin, feeling accomplished. "Those don't count, Will. They're not _survival_ skills."

"You never said that they had to be survival skills, Jess," I tell her. "Face it. There are _at least_ three things you're good at."

"Okay, maybe," she says, half-smiling now. "But I still need your help."

I make a face. "Picking out weapons? That's not really my thing, Jess. Don't you think you'd be better off asking Annabeth or Clarisse or…"

She shakes her head quickly. "Annabeth scares me – and besides, she's too busy helping Leo build the _Argo II _and trying to find Percy. And Clarisse…" She shudders. "I just… can't face the Ares cabin right now."

"Oh." I'd almost forgotten about Sherman. Jess was really good at hiding her pain from others, and sometimes even I didn't realize when she was hurting. "All right, then." I stand up and then pull her up too. "Let's get started."

I get a full smile now. "Thanks, Will."

I shrug, feeling my face start to heat up. "Don't thank me yet. I told you, I'm hopeless at this."

Thirty minutes later, Jess is starting to agree with me. "Okay, Solace. I think I'd be doing better _without _your help."

I scratch my head. "Hey. I didn't _ask_ to do this."

She sighs. "How about… you just try to help me with something you _can_ do?"

I grin happily. "Archery?"

"I hate to say it, but yes. Archery."

* * *

"Let's try this _one _more time, Jess," Will says for the fiftieth time. "Hold the bow straight – no, straight like _this_ – and pull back gently – not _that_ gently, the string's not even moving! And then make sure your arrow's in straight, and aim carefully, and breathe in, and release!"

I really think I'm improving. The arrow only misses the target by two or three feet.

Will sighs in exasperation. "Okay, I'll demonstrate _again_." He pulls an arrow out of his quiver and notches it in his bow, slowly going through the motions of firing an arrow so that I can watch. I see the muscles in his arm tighten as he pulls back on the string, and a gust of wind blows his tousled hair back just as he releases the arrow. It flies straight, just like Will's arrows always do, and buries itself in the _exact_ center of the target.

"How do you _do_ that?" I complain.

He smirks. "_That_ was nothing." And he quickly notches another few arrows and lets them fly in quick succession. Each one splits the arrow before it.

I groan. "Stop showing off, Will. I'd be happy if _one _of my arrows even _touched_ the target."

He comes over and stands close to me, putting each of his hands on mine. He leans his head against mine, so that we're as close as it's possible to be. "Okay, look. You hold the bow like _this_," he guides my arms with his, "and notch an arrow like _this_, and pull back like _this_," he uses his strength to help me hold the weight of the string steadily, "and then breathe, and release!" We let go in unison, and the arrow flies into the second ring of the target we were aiming for. I drop the bow in surprise, grin, turn, and wrap my arms around Will.

"We hit the target! We hit it! And I _helped_ hit it!" I'm laughing and jumping up and down, and he rolls his eyes while smiling when he sees how happy I am.

"Yes, we did," he says, extracting himself from my arms, leaning down, and grabbing my bow. He holds it out to me. "Now let's see if you can do it again."

"Oh, come _on_, Will," I say. "I want to end on a high note!"

He forces the bow into my hands anyway, grinning crookedly at me. "You hit it once, you can do it again, Jess. Keep going."

Eventually, I do manage to send an arrow into the target on my own – but I never do as well as the time that Will Solace leaned against me and helped me shoot straight.

* * *

I feel someone tap me on the shoulder, and I know immediately who it is. "Jess, finally! You took _so_ lo…er..." When I turn to see Jess, I don't expect her to be wearing a sparkly white shirt, a tight black skirt, tall black boots, a long purple necklace that matches her eyes, and _makeup_. I'm not used to this stylish, dark-hair-down-and-curly version of Jess. "Whoa." It's all I can think to say.

She just laughs and links elbows with me. "Let's go, party boy. This thing was your idea in the first place." She's right. The Stolls had been talking about holding a high-school-age-only party in their cabin for ages (Katie was strangely willing to house the little Hermes children in Cabin 4 for the night when she usually didn't want to attend _any_ sort of party… but since _Travis_ would be at this one…), and I'd told Jess that she should go with me – er, as friends, of course. At the time, I'd only been hoping to put something else on her mind so she'd stop obsessing with her lack of magical-control-skills, but she was surprisingly excited about the whole thing. I'm glad she's happy, obviously – but I still think the skirt's a bit overkill.

"The sparkles are magical," Jess tells me as we make our way over to Cabin 11.

"What?"

"On my shirt," Jess says, in an "isn't it obvious?" tone of voice. "None of my shirts had sparkles, so I had to add some in."

"Oh," I say slowly. "Of… of course." It's never occurred to me that Jess would alter her clothes magically, or even wonder if they _should_ be altered. She's never been the type to worry too much about fashion. But tonight, I have to admit – she looks good.

"Will? _Wi-ill_?"

I shake myself out of my thoughts. "Yeah?"

She grins. "We're here, Solace." And we walk inside together.

Cabin 11 has been transformed from a haphazard pile of sleeping bag storage to a huge open space with tables in a far corner for food and drinks. Demigods crowd the floor, dancing and laughing and sometimes brandishing weapons at each other – you know, typical teenage stuff. Suddenly, I'm glad I brought a knife. Since it's a Hermes party, the music's surprisingly good – but unfortunately, that means Jess immediately tries to force me into dancing.

"No, no, and _no_," I say as she drags me towards the center of the room. "I do _not_ dance."

"Aw, come _on_, Solace," she complains. "_Everyone_ can dance in their own special way."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

She grins. "_Yes_." Then _she_ starts dancing, and the lighting turns purple to match her necklace, and now she looks _really_ good.

I swallow hard. "Okay, Rivers. I think we can add 'dancing' to the list of your skills."

"Really?" Her violet eyes – a classic trait of daughters of Hecate – seem to light up as she looks at me.

"Definitely."

She smiles. "Thanks, Will."

"Solace!" It's Connor, shoving through people to get to me and clapping a hand on my back. "My man! Mind if I have a word?"

"Uh, sure?" I look back at Jess. "I'll be right back, okay?"

She smiles again. "I'll be right here." So I turn and follow Connor to the food table.

"What?"

He smirks conspiratorially. "Dude, are you serious? You _have_ to go for it!"

I stare at him, confused. "Go for what?"

He rolls his eyes. "Jessica Rivers, man! She's, like, _totally_ into you!"

I turn bright red. "Uh… no."

His eyes go wide. "No way. _You're_ into _her_ too? That's _perfect!_ You've _got_ to take a shot now, Solace. Trust me."

I snort. "Yeah, because you're _so_ good with the ladies, Stoll."

He shakes his head. "You should listen to me on this one, Will, seriously. Look, Travis _finally_ got the guts to ask Katie out just now, and it worked out for him! Do it, Solace. Just do it."

I scratch my head. "We'll see, Connor."

"Hey, don't wait too long, okay?" Connor says, already disappearing back into the crowd. "She's pretty hot, man. If you don't ask her soon, someone else will."

I stare after the deranged son of Hermes for a while. Then, shaking my head, I turn and go back to Jess, hoping that I'm not still red.

I get there just in time. Sherman – that spawn-of-Cerberus, son of a gorgon – is trying to hit on her. "Dress up like that for _me_, Rivers?"

Jess's eyes are shining too brightly – she's trying not to cry. I see her fingers starting to smoke. "Stay away from me, Sherman Derrit," she says quietly. "I'm warning you – stay away." And she turns to try and leave.

But Sherman grabs her wrist and twists her around to look at him. I'm too shocked to move. "Now, you listen here, Rivers," he whispers menacingly. "I didn't like the way you talked to me on the beach a few weeks back. Now, I'm willing to forgive you, but you have to-"

She glares at him, not close to tears anymore. _You get him, Jess_, I think. "I don't want your _forgiveness_, you cheating-" Here, Jess unleashes a couple of choice words on him. I'd feel proud of her, but her language just makes Sherman mad. He slaps her – but he's a son of Ares, so his slap snaps her head halfway around and sends her sprawling to the floor. Finally, I unfreeze. I race towards them, pulling out my knife as I go, and stand in front of Jess protectively. I'm so angry, I think the son of Ares can _feel_ the danger in the air. The other demigods back up a little.

"Didn't you hear her, Sherman?" I say. "She told you to _stay away from her_."

"I'm not taking crap from you, Solace." Sherman makes a move to shove past me and grab Jess again, who's stood up and shrunk back some. I stick my knife in his face.

"I think it's in your best interests to take crap from me, Derrit." I'm shocked by how my voice sounds – cool, calculated, and dark. _I_ wouldn't want to mess with me right then.

Apparently, neither does Sherman. He pauses and looks at me in surprise, seeing me as a real threat for the first time.

"So here's my 'crap', Derrit. You don't come _near_ Jessica Rivers. You don't _touch_ her. You don't even _look_ at her. And if you do, you'll hear from me, I swear. I might be an archer, but I can do a _lot_ of damage with this thing." I brandish my knife a little more for effect, and Sherman seems to get the picture. He backs off, trying to keep what little composure he has left.

"Whatever, Solace," he says. But I know he won't hurt Jess again.

I narrow my eyes at him until he's gone, probably back to his cabin to complain to Clarisse. I might pay for it later, but for now, I've won. I turn to see how Jess is doing, but she's disappeared too. I'm worried for a moment, but then I know where she must have gone. Without another word, ignoring the stares from other demigods, I leave too.

* * *

Sure enough, Jess is in her tree. I can hear her sobbing one hundred feet up in the air. "Hey, Jess! It's me!" She doesn't answer, so I just climb up in the dark and pray that I won't hit any branches. After a while, I think that I hear her close by, so I edge out on a branch I can't see until I feel her curled up and shaking. I hold her close until her shuddering slows. Then I say, "You shouldn't have come up here, Jess. You could've fallen."

"I'm not going to fall, Will," she promises. "Look." Suddenly, I see a light glowing in her cupped hands. Then I look down and see her wearing a harness woven from glittering silver strands – definitely magical.

"You're getting pretty good at this spell stuff, huh?"

She manages a kind-of smile. "I guess." She closes her eyes and concentrates, and then _I'm_ wearing a silver harness too. "I wouldn't want you falling either, Solace."

"Gee, thanks," I say, brushing hair out of her face. I look at her, still shivering a little, and sigh, hugging her again. "Are you all right, Jess?"

She leans her head on my shoulder. "I don't think so, Will. But I will be."

"Oh, yeah? How's that?" It's weird, but all I can think about is Connor saying, _Take a shot, Solace… And don't wait too long, okay? If you don't ask her out soon, someone else will_. I roll my eyes at myself. Now is _not_ the time.

"Because you're here," she says simply. "I can always count on you, Will." Before I even know what's happening, she's leaning up and kissing me on the cheek. I hope that in her dim magical light, she can't tell that I'm bright red again. "Thanks for always being there for me."

"Anytime you need me, Jess, I'm here," I tell her. "Just… maybe next time, we could go somewhere a little closer to the ground?"

She laughs, and I smile. "Deal."

* * *

I'm seeking out Will Solace yet again, but nobody seems to know where he is. The Apollo cabin is playing basketball, as usual, but Will's not on the winning team – and I don't have to look at the losing team, because Will would _never_ be on the losing team. I've been to Aphrodite – Will's, er, not, you know, _ugly_, so the Aphrodite girls generally keep tabs on his tousled blond hair and sky-blue eyes; Hermes – he's been known to spend a dangerous amount of time associating with the Stoll brothers; and Hypnos – I've heard he's been having more nightmares than usual lately, which worries me but isn't the reason I'm looking for him; but none of them know where to find him. Now I'm visiting the Hephaestus forge as a last resort. I poke my head in and say, "Anyone seen Will today?"

To my surprise, Leo Valdez grins that crazy white grin, puts down whatever ship thingy-whatsit he's working on, and runs to another room, shouting, "Solace! Your girlfriend's here!" I try not to turn too red.

Before long, Will appears at the door. When he sees me, he half-smiles sheepishly. "Hey, Jess. What are you doing here?"

I roll my eyes. "I've been looking for you _everywhere_, Solace. I want to show you something."

His smile widens, and I can't help grinning back. "Really? What's that?"

I shrug. "Come and find out." I disappear back outside; of course, after a cryptic statement like that, he _has_ to follow me. I hide another grin.

"So…" he says as we walk across the green, "I'm, uh, sorry about Leo. He's kind of…"

"Clinically insane?" I say. "No, it's okay. I didn't mind…" I add nonchalantly.

Will looks at me in surprise for a split second, but quickly hides it. "Yeah, me neither. I just thought… _you_ might…"

"Nope," I say. We walk along in a kind of awkward silence, Will obviously wondering where we're going but refusing to ask, until I say, "We're here."

"The archery range?"

"Yup," I smile. "Watch this." I run to where I left my bow and arrows. Then I pick them up, select an arrow from my quiver, notch it in my bow, and draw the string back gently-but-not-_too_-gently. I glance at Will for a second. He's raised an eyebrow. I grin and focus back on the target. I pull back a final time, breathe, and _release_! And the arrow flies towards the target – and buries its head in the bull's-eye.

Will stares in shock for a moment – I'm slightly offended by this, but not too much because it surprised me too, the first time – before running towards me, lifting me up, and spinning me around in excitement. Then I think he realizes what he's doing and puts me down a little awkwardly. I'm too busy laughing to care, and soon, he is too.

"You… you just… and it…"

"It's not funny, Solace! This is like, a major milestone in my Camp Half-Blood career!"

"_You're_ laughing!" he protests.

"At you! Not at me!"

"I'm not…" he gasps, "laughing… _at_ you." His hands are on his knees, but he lifts his head up and looks at me. "That's another thing we can add to your list of skills, Jess. When did you learn how to do _that_?"

I shrug. "When you taught me. Then it was just practice."

He straightens and smiles. "Takes a lot of practice, though." He leans in and hugs me. "Nice job, Jess."

I try not to let him see how happy his hug makes me. "Thanks, Solace. I would've showed you sooner, but you'd gone MIA on me. Why, pray tell, were you in the forges?"

He turns red. "Oh, you know… I was just… doing stuff."

I raise an eyebrow. "_Stuff_?" My eyes widen. "Wait… with a _girl_?" I don't get the feeling that washes over me – is it… _jealousy_? But Will quickly sets me straight.

"_What_?" He turns even redder and looks away. "Um… no. No way. Never." He looks at me and tilts his head. "_Definitely_ not. I was just… making something."

I'm wondering why he added the "definitely" when he looked at me. But I still believe him. Trying to relieve the weird new awkwardness between us, I grin at him and say, "All right, Solace. I believe you. But don't think you can keep this project secret from me forever. Sooner or later – hopefully sooner – I _will_ find out."

He smiles at me cheekily. "I know you will."

* * *

His cabin runs the campfire, but I'm determined to find Will anyways. I'd seen him from a distance all day, looking a little, well, _off_, and I _needed_ to know what was wrong. You know, so I could use the list of skills he claimed I had to fix him… Campers aren't technically allowed to sit wherever they want at these sing-alongs, though, so I wait until the last notes of "Medusa Had a Little Statue" die away before running over to the Apollo cabin and their guitars and dragging Will away before he even knows what's going on. I ignore the catcalls from his siblings and the bets from Aphrodite. This time, I'm seeking out Solace for his own good – this is strictly business. Not that, you know, it's ever anything… er, _more_ than business… or friendship-ness…

"What are you _doing_, Jess?" Will complains indignantly as I pull him into the woods. "Ow… That _hurts_… The woods are dangerous at night, Jess! Don't you remember _anything_ from orientation?"

I snort and keep going. "Like that's ever stopped us before, Solace. Anyways, we're here."

He groans. "Not the _tree_ again."

I turn around and glare at him. "Or we could go back, and I'll ask about your problems in front of _all_ your siblings."

"You can't be serious!" I glare some more, and he sighs and starts climbing. Hiding a grin that he couldn't see in the half-light anyways, I follow him.

"Okay," he says finally, as we're sitting on our branch, "we're a hundred feet off the ground and I'm going to fall off at any moment. What do you want?"

"I want to know what's up with _you_, Solace," I answer. "You've looked off all day."

"I am _not_ off," he says. Then, suddenly, his eyelids droop and he almost topples off the branch. My eyes widen, I grab his arm before he can fall, and I quickly make silver harnesses for both of us. As soon as we've steadied, Will's eyes blink open. "Wha…?"

"You just passed out and almost fell to your death, Will," I say, hugging him tightly. "Like I said. Off."

He sighs. "I… I know. It's just… dreams…"

"Oh…" I say sadly. I don't know how to fix dreams. "What of…?"

"Bad things… You know, with my dad being the god of prophecy and all…"

"Oh," I say again, because there's really nothing else _to_ say. "About… the new Great Prophecy? Or…?"

He shrugs and looks away. "I don't… I don't really want to talk about it."

"All right," I say, taking his hand. He looks down at it and smiles. I've placed a little ball of light in his hand.

"My dad would love that," he tells me. "A mini-sun lighting up the night… Gods, if Artemis saw that…"

I grin and close his fingers over the light. "Well, we'd better make sure she doesn't see it, then. Just… remember, I'm always here for you, Will, whether you can see me or not." I lean my head on his shoulder and look at him, still grinning. "I mean, you're so patient, even when I'm bugging you about my issues all the time. I figure that it's about time to return the favor."

"I'll be fine, Jess," he promises. "But thanks."

"Anytime, Solace," I say. "But _do_ try not to pass out while sitting a hundred feet in the air, okay? I may not be here to save your life next time."

He laughs. "Trust me, Jess. I'd never be going up here if you didn't all the time."

The fact that he does anyway touches me, but all I say is, "The son of a god who flies across the world ten thousand feet in the air is afraid of heights? Doesn't that seem a little ironic to you-?"

"Shut up, Rivers."

I ruffle his hair, smirking. "Oh, you know you love me."

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I do." He's looking down at me, and the moment feels perfect, and I'm leaning up and he's leaning down and –

"Um, so, it's late and I've, um, got to go," I say, sitting back up and looking away, mentally cursing myself. What is wrong with me? But I just… I can't do it. I don't want to lose what we have.

Will's quiet for a while. But eventually, he just swallows and says, "Of course, Jess. I'll see you tomorrow."

I squeeze one of his hands and will the ball of light to stay in the other. Then, before I can lose all of my nerve, I lean up and kiss his cheek. I'm about to jump down, but I whisper, "I'm sorry, Will. I'm just… not ready for this yet." I'm gone before I see his reaction.

* * *

I'm walking back to camp, and whenever I see a tree trunk in the dim light given off by Jess's mini-sun, I kick it. There are a lot of trees in the forest. My foot is throbbing like crazy – but I hardly feel it, I'm so mad at myself. "Stupid, stupid. What, did you think she actually _liked_ you, Solace?" I kick another tree and let off a few choice words in frustration. "'Take a shot, Solace,'" I mutter, imitating Connor. "'Go for it, Solace. Don't wait too long, Solace.' You are an idiot, Stoll, and I'm an idiot for listening to you." When I lash out at a tree again, I both hear and feel bones in my foot cracking. More choice words come, and I laugh bitterly at myself. "Nice going, son of Apollo. The healer breaks his own foot."

I figure I'd better wrap it so I don't become crippled for life, so I sit down, pull an ace bandage out of my pocket (healers always come prepared), and drop Jess's light next to me. When I tear off my shoe, I have to bite back a shout. It's like my sneaker had been stopping my pain receptors from working, and now that it's off, they're announcing a sharp, stabbing ache at full blast. I wrap my ace bandage around my foot as much as I can through the red haze blurring my vision, grab a large nearby stick, and stand up with one leg, wincing. It takes me an extra fifteen minutes to hobble back to camp, cursing under my breath the entire time.

When I arrive, I wobble to my cabin, rip open the door, throw my stick across the room, and collapse on my bed. Everyone's staring, but I ignore them and rummage around until someone hands me a bag of ambrosia. I eat an entire square before anyone talks. "Er… what happened, Will?" It's Austin.

I glare at the floor. "Long story."

"Was it Jess?" This time Tyler's the one talking. "We saw you two leaving. If she did something…"

Now I'm glaring at Tyler. "It wasn't her fault." Vaguely, I realize they're all in various kinds of pajamas, Kayla's got a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, and it's probably past midnight. "Just… just go to bed, all of you, all right? I'm fine." They all know better than to push me when I'm angry. Soon enough, the only light shining in the cabin comes from the little sunshine night-lights we had Cabin Nine make for our youngest campers. That and Jess's mini-sun, which I've somehow managed to hold onto the entire time. It glows brightly in the dim light, and I'm reluctant to try and put it out. Instead, I roll it under my bed before closing my eyes. As soon as I'm asleep, the dreams come.

* * *

"Will!" It's the next day, and Jess is running towards me like last night never happened. I don't blame her. I'm trying hard to pretend it didn't as well.

When she comes closer, she stops and peers at my foot. It's in a boot this morning. "What did you do? You were fine before…" She looks at my face and then bites her lip. "It's my fault, isn't it?" I don't need to ask what she's talking about.

But I don't want her beating herself up, so I say, "No, of course not! I, uh, tripped over a tree root in the dark." It's almost the truth. At least, my injury did have to do with trees.

She frowns. "But I gave you a light… Did it stop working? I really thought I had that spell down…"

I mentally kick myself. Now she was going to get insecure about her magical capabilities all over again, just when she was really getting good. "It wasn't that," I promise. "I just wasn't paying enough attention. I was tired, and it was late, and it's really not that big of a deal since I'll be fine in a day or two."

She nods slowly, still unconvinced. "All right. But I'm still sorry – I was the one who dragged you into the woods in the first place." That's when I remember why she'd wanted me. My dream floods into full-color memory, and I have to fight not to scowl at the ground. Jess is already worried enough about me.

Instead, I force a smile. "You're already forgiven," I say. "Now, can you please let me go eat?"

She smiles back hesitantly. "Sorry, Solace. Go ahead."

"What?" I say. "Aren't you coming?"

She shrugs. "Er… already ate. I'm just going to, you know, practice some spells or something."

Just like that, I forget about my mound of problems and grab Jess's arm as she walks past me, spinning her around. I examine her face and notice wet spots on her cheeks. I lift my thumb and wipe away her tears. "What happened, Jess? Why are you skipping breakfast?"

She bites her lip. "Sherman's hitting on Lou Ellen, and she's flirting back. It's disgusting, and I didn't want to watch, so I left. It's totally cool with me, though. If Lou wants to go out with a cheating idiot, then that's her mistake. She should know better after everything I've told her, but whatever! She can ignore me if she wants." Then Jess pulls her arm free and runs off, knowing I can't follow her in my current condition. I sigh and walk towards the Hephaestus forge instead. Suddenly, I've lost my appetite.

Jake Mason, finally healed after the dragon incident months ago, finds me about an hour later. "What's up, Solace? You missed an epic breakfast. Like, legit food-fight between Hermes and Aphrodite. Well, mostly Hermes was throwing the food, and Aphrodite was shrieking and trying to save their designer clothes, but it was hilarious."

"That's cool, dude," I say, not really paying attention.

Jake looks closer at what I'm making. "Impressive, Solace. Apollo's kids usually suck at this sort of thing."

I spread my arms dramatically. "Metal-working is just a heat-intensive form of poetry."

Jake cracks up. "Okay, Mr. Philosophical, if you say so. But I hope the girl this is for is something special; you've spent a lot of time on this."

I duck my head in embarrassment. "How'd you know-?"

"That it was for a girl?" Jake laughs harder. "No, man, you're making that for Leo Valdez."

Now I laugh too. "All right, Mason, I guess it's kind of obvious."

He smiles. "I'll leave you to it, then, Will. I've got my own girl to impress."

"Oh really? Who's that?"

He leans close and whispers in my ear conspiratorially. "You know that Hecate girl, Jess Rivers? Well, she's hot _and_ nice, so..."

I drop my hammer on the floor. Jake starts in on a fresh laughing fit. "Just messing with you." I'm starting to think Leo's affecting his cabin mates. The Hephaestus campers have suddenly developed a twisted sense of humor.

"Gods, Jake," I mutter, picking up my hammer. "Have you been talking to Connor recently?"

"Oh? Does he know too?" Jake grins. "I'm not surprised. Man, even _Leo _knows you guys like each other, and he's so absorbed in that ship of his he usually misses half the day's meals."

"Actually, Jake," I say, "I'm pretty sure this 'liking' business is a one-way thing."

He raises an eyebrow. "What makes you say that-? …Oh. Rejection bites – but don't give up, man. Maybe Jess just wants to take it slow or something – she's totally into you, I promise."

I shake my head. "Why has the world decided to give me freaking _relationship_ advice?" I toss my hammer on the table, grab my finished product, and stick it in my pocket. Then I walk out.

"Where are you going, Solace?" Jake calls out.

"To shoot some stuff," I growl. "Be glad it's not you." And then I'm gone.

* * *

I find Will letting off three arrows at a time on the archery range. When I yell hi to him, he turns and almost shoots a couple at me before registering who I am. "Touchy, touchy," I say, jumping the fence. "Someone's in a bad mood."

He sighs and lowers his bow. "Sorry, Jess. It's a reflex. What's up?"

"Just came to apologize for running off on you earlier, and to make sure you're really okay."

He shrugs. "I can still hit a bull's eye with my eyes closed, Jess. I'm fine."

I'm close enough to punch him lightly in the arm. "Not everything can be measured in terms of archery, Will. I'm wondering about your mental health, here."

"I'm not in an asylum for a reason, Jess. My mental health's fine, too."

I gently pull the bow from his fingers and watch as the tension in his arms releases. "Don't close me out, Will."

He smiles slightly. "I don't think I could do that if I tried, Rivers."

"All right then," I say. "Talk to me."

His shoulders drop, and I know he's finally given up on getting rid of me. "This could take a while."

I grin and sit down on the grass, stretching out and staring up at Will and the sky. "Might as well get comfortable, then."

Slowly, Will drops next to me, and we just watch the clouds for a while. I know he'll talk when he's ready, and soon enough, his mouth opens. "So I've been having this dream lately, and it's about you…"

I raise an eyebrow and turn to look at him. He turns red. "Not like that! But anyway, in it I see these gold-plated kids, like our age, marching towards our hill." He gulps. "They don't look friendly, and they're flying a purple banner."

I breathe in sharply. "Romans." Like Jason.

"Yeah. So they're climbing our hill, and…" He looks away. "The Hecate cabin is putting up some kind of magical shield as, like, a double barrier to reinforce our protective boundary. You're there, of course, and you're, like, the most powerful one." Both of my eyebrows are raised now. Me? _Powerful_? "But while you're working, Roman archers start shooting. That's when I see Gaea's face in the grass on the side of the road. Her eyes are half-open, which, judging from Leo's and Jason's and Piper's story, isn't good. 'Wonderful, wonderful,' she says. 'Allies destroy each other. It's beautiful. It's poetry. You should appreciate poetry, Will Solace.' And that's when…" Will glances at me and then drops his head to the ground and closes his eyes. He finishes softly. "That's when an archer lets an arrow go, and it's a beautiful shot, as good as anything I could do. That's the problem – as it flies through the sky, it _is_ like poetry. But then I see the target of the arrow, Jess." His voice is a whisper as he says, "It's you."

I almost _expect_ his revelation. Instead of crying or freaking out, I stare silently at the clouds. I'm still for a long time. Then, finally, when I know Will is looking at me for a reaction, I think of something to say. "That's a terrible dream, Will, and it sucks that you have it all the time. But I'm pretty sure it won't come true."

"Oh yeah?" Will's begging me for proof. "How's that?"

"I have faith in Annabeth and Leo and Piper and Jason," I say to the sky. "They can turn the Romans into our friends, especially if Percy's really over there with them." Then I twist around and grin at Will. "Besides, there's something off about your story. No way I'll ever become _powerful_."

Will smiles. "Yeah, no chance of that." But I hear in his voice that he's still not sure.

"And on top of all that, you never see me actually get shot," I add. "Don't have so little faith in the Hecate cabin's ability to erect protective shields."

He snorts. "Did you _really_ just say that?"

I grin. "Yup. Now let's go." I jump up and grab Will's arm, pulling him to his feet. "I have something to show you."

"As long as it's not in the woods," he says hesitantly.

I pause. "Um… do you really mean that?"

He stares at me. "Seriously?" I nod. He sighs. "Oh well. Whatever, Rivers. Lead on."

* * *

Of course, Jess leads me to the _tree_. I glare up into its branches. After last night, I don't really want to go up there again. But Jess is insistent, so I sigh and start climbing. Luckily, my foot's healed enough for it.

Soon enough, we're sitting on a branch the way we have on and off for the last year, and if I try a little, I can pretend that nothing's changed since I first found Jessica Rivers hiding up here to escape Drew, who'd been acting crueler than normal. But I know that really, _everything's_ changed. Jess is older now. She's more confident. Despite what she thinks, she's getting really good at magic. And, uh, she's been getting even more beautiful in the last months. I glance over at her awkwardly, but Jess doesn't seem to notice. Her curly hair falls over her shoulder, framing her face against a forest backdrop. Her violet eyes look at her hands. I follow them, and I'm surprised to see a Celestial bronze arrow cupped in her palms. "Jess?" I say, almost afraid to ask. "What are you doing with that?"

A hint of a smile grazes her lips as she hands the arrow to me. It seems to be glowing in the afternoon light drifting through the trees, but I think it must be my imagination. "Shoot it," she says. "At the rock down there."

There's a huge boulder about twenty feet in front of us (and a hundred feet down, of course). It's not as big as Zeus's Fist, but this is _one_ rock. I shrug, not really knowing where she's going with this, but pull my bow off my back anyway. I notch the arrow and aim carefully for the center of the stone face. I release the string, and the arrow – it really is glowing now – somehow manages to bury itself in the rock up to its bronze feathers.

"How… How…?"

She grins. "Extra-strength spell. It's cool, right?"

"Awesome," I agree. "You could cut through a giant's armor with that thing." I put my bow up and turn towards her. "But… why did you bring me _here_ to show me that? I mean, we were on the archery range before…"

Her smile's small but bright. "That's not all I wanted to show you." She leans against me and holds a finger up, tracing invisible patterns in the air. When she's done, she snaps with her other hand, and the invisible patterns suddenly shimmer into life, outlined with glimmering gold dust. I stare in amazement when I see what Jess has drawn. It's a sketch of her and me on the archery range the day I first taught her to shoot. I'm holding her arm steady as she draws back the bowstring. I don't know how, but the gold somehow captures us perfectly. "It would look better if it were dark," she adds when she sees my face. "I know it's not that impressive, but-"

"It's incredible, Jess," I say honestly, smiling at her leaning on my shoulder. "I think we can finally add magic to the list of your skills."

She breathes in sharply. "Really?"

"Look at what you did, Jess," I say, gesturing with my free arm. "Of _course_ really!"

She grins. "Thanks, Will." When Jess smiles, I swear it's as bright as the sun. And I'm Apollo's kid. I know what I'm talking about. "And, Will…" she continues, looking up at me, "I really am sorry about last night." I know she's not talking about my foot, and my face slowly turns red. "It's not that… Well, I don't know why I did what I did. I guess, after Sherman, I was scared to let anything… happen, but I know you're not like him. And I… I'm not… _scared_ anymore." She looks down sheepishly, and orange glitter drifts from her fingers like it does when she's nervous or embarrassed. "I know I sound ridiculous."

"Jessica Rivers, if there's one thing you're not, it's ridiculous," I promise. Hesitantly, I reach into my pocket and pull out what I've been making. Her head's still turned away, although the orange glitter has disappeared; she doesn't notice. "You said you wanted to know what I'd been doing in Hephaestus's forge, right? Well, uh, here it is."

Slowly, she twists towards me again, and I drop the silver necklace into her hand. For a second, she doesn't react, and I curse myself for being stupid. And then she throws her arms around me and I stop thinking. "It's beautiful, Will," she whispers. The necklace's pendant is a little glass ball with a silver bow and arrow suspended inside. Silver dust floats around it.

"You like it?" I say. "I just thought, you know, it reminded me of that day you just drew, and I thought that day was pretty amazing. And the dust reminds me of your shirt, that day at the dance. And I know that didn't end so well, but before Sherman showed up it was kind of amazing too… And if you think it's stupid then that's all right, but you know, I thought it could maybe remind you of me or something, I don't know…"

She laughs into my shoulder (she's still hugging me… not that I mind…). "I told you, Will, it's beautiful. Thank you. I love it. I…" She trails off, like she's afraid to say what she's thinking. She drops her arms and sits back a little, putting on the necklace. "I'll always treasure it, I promise."

Suddenly, I'm sick of pretending that I don't like Jess. I do like her, and if she likes me back that'd be great, but I'm not going to worry about it anymore. Even though I've already discounted Connor's "wisdom", his words flash through my head. _Go for it. Do it, Solace. Just do it._ And even Jake: _Don't give up, man_.

"Jess…" I say.

"Yeah?" She looks up at me, and it's almost like she's begging me to say what I'm thinking.

I take a deep breath. "Will you go out with me?"

Her smile, even _brighter_ than the sun this time, is all I need for an answer. And then I'm catching her head with my free hand and lifting it up to mine, and we're kissing there one hundred feet above the ground. My eyes are closed, but when they open again, I see yellow sparks shooting out of her hair, and I smile through our kiss.

"What?" Jess says, opening her eyes too and pulling away a little. "Why are you smiling?"

"Yellow sparks, Jess," I tell her.

She grins. "Well, of course I'm happy, Solace. You just _kissed_ me." And then it's her turn to kiss me.

When we pull apart for the second time, I tilt my head and look at her. "What?" she says self-consciously.

I smile. "I think kissing is yet another one of your many skills, Jessica Rivers."

She leans closer and raises an eyebrow at me. "Well, you know what they say…"

"What?"

She laughs. "Practice makes perfect."

Then I laugh too, caught by surprise. "Yes, it definitely does. So, uh, maybe you should practice some more, just to make sure you've really got it down…"

"Oh, shut up, Solace." But she practices anyway.

* * *

**Any thoughts?**


	6. Break Away

**All right, people, I only got ONE review for the last chapter. (Thanks, curly11pig! :) I know that a ****_lot_**** more people have read this story than that. So here's my question: What's stopping you from scrolling to the bottom of the page (or staying at the bottom of the page, if you read the whole chapter) and writing a couple words about the chapter? It's really not that hard. Seriously. One to three words is all I'm asking for. I don't mind criticism - honestly. If you think something's wrong with my writing, tell me! If you don't think anything's wrong with it, tell me that too! If you love this story, review! If you hate it, review! If you feel absolutely no emotion towards this story and can't think of anything to write other than "Eh.", tell me that in a review! **

**Seriously, guys, I can't get better if you don't tell me what I'm doing wrong... :P**

**Okay, that's all! Thanks for reading, at least... I guess... -_-**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO or any of the characters involved in those series(-es...?). :)**

* * *

**6. Break Away**

"I always knew you'd see sense, Perseus," Gaea said. Her eyes were still closed, Annabeth noted, but something about the earth goddess seemed more _awake_ than usual. It probably had to do with Percy's complete and utter betrayal of the gods, the seven, and especially Annabeth. "But, I must ask, what finally changed your mind?"

With a last glance at Annabeth, Percy went to stand beside the giants. "I… I'm tired of being the gods' pawn," he said finally. "Annabeth and I served them for years – but did they care? No. We're at the center of another last-ditch effort to save the world from utter destruction, and the gods don't even deign to talk to us." His bitterness seemed genuine. Annabeth had been clinging to a shred of hope – their conversation from last night – but Percy really _was_ going to join Gaea. Involuntarily, Annabeth let out a sob. Percy heard her, and for a split-second, she was _sure_ he looked guilty. But then his eyes hardened, and Annabeth knew she must've imagined it.

"The gods take us for granted. Luke told me all those years ago, and now I see he was right. I don't blame him for joining Kronos. After all, I'm standing with you now, right?"

"And this girl…" Gaea mused. "You don't mind that I want to sacrifice her?"

"What, Annabeth?" Percy looked at her like she was worthless. Suddenly, Annabeth was done feeling hurt and betrayed. Luke had betrayed her. Now Percy was betraying her. She'd never forgive him for that. No. Annabeth just wanted revenge. "Why would you sacrifice _her_? Gaea, I think you have bigger fish to fry."

"Really?" The earth goddess sounded amused. "Give me an example, son of Poseidon."

His smirk hurt Annabeth's eyes. She'd never thought a look that cruel could exist on her Seaweed Brain's face. "Well, the options are limitless. The Hunters of Artemis, maybe. Since they're immortal, in a way, their power outmatches Annabeth's. Or… Jason Grace. Nico di Angelo. Hazel Levesque. Thalia Grace – she's Zeus's daughter _and_ one of the Hunters. They're all children of the Big Three. Their deaths would be great for you."

Gaea laughed – a sound that chilled Annabeth's blood. "So without guilt! You will be an even better pawn than I anticipated!"

Somehow, Annabeth found her ability to speak. "I'm glad to see you're so willing to give up your family and friends, Percy."

He shrugged. "Why shouldn't I be?" But something in his eyes looked different from the cold, distant person Percy seemed to be.

Annabeth pushed harder. "Come on, Percy. You're telling Gaea she should kill off a child of the Big Three. Well, guess what? You're one too! What's stopping her from stabbing you in the back once she's done using you? Huh? You said you didn't want to be a pawn of the gods. Is being a pawn of the earth goddess really going to be any better?"

Percy was silent for a long time. "It'll be different," he said finally, laughing – but it seemed forced to Annabeth. "I was getting bored of being played by the Olympians."

Annabeth shouted in frustration. "You're a coward, Percy Jackson! A coward! What Sally would say if she could see you now…"

Gaea cut in. "Oh, daughter of Athena! That's cliché, even for you. Perseus has made up his mind. You should be glad I have no more need for you, child. Your death will be quick and merciful instead of slow."

"No!" Percy yelled it so suddenly both Gaea and Annabeth looked at him – or at least, Gaea turned in his direction. Annabeth hardly dared to hope… But could Percy really… still be…?

"No?" Gaea said, as if the word was foreign in her mouth. "Surely you don't _care_ for this girl, son of Poseidon! That would… well, I'd question your loyalties if I found you still cared for Annabeth."

Percy let out another forced laugh – Annabeth _knew_ it was forced now. "I don't care for her at all, goddess. But I think she should be a messenger to Hazel, Frank, and the others. She should let them know the recent, ah, _turn _in events. They should know I've made a decision about where my loyalties lie, and they should reconsider the ones they've made. Because if they don't make the right choices, she needs to let them know I won't hesitate to go after them. Nico said himself I'm the most powerful demigod he's ever met. They should think about that."

Gaea tilted her head. "Give them one last chance to turn around? That's different, Perseus. I like it.

"Very well," she said to the giants at her side, as if making a decision of her own. "The girl lives. But… help Perseus here… get acquainted with the other members of our, ah, _group_."

A yellow-skinned giant let out a growling chuckle and grabbed Percy's arm roughly. Annabeth knew she should hate him for betraying everyone, but she just… couldn't. Something held her back. _I've made a decision about where my loyalties lie. _He'd never said exactly what decision he'd made. And, really, they were _all_ tired of being pawns of the gods. Percy had never gone right out and _said_ he was betraying everyone he'd ever cared about – and he'd protected her all the times Gaea had wanted to kill her. In fact, he'd just gotten _both_ of them out of certain death, at least for a moment. Was it possible…? "Percy…" she said finally. "I think you're making a mistake. I think you're crazy for standing over there with Gaea." She hoped he understood the message buried in there. _I don't believe you're giving all of us up. I trust you, Seaweed Brain._

"Don't push your luck, Annabeth," Percy warned. "Be glad Gaea is sparing you." Annabeth heard a veiled message in there, too. _Watch it, Wise Girl. I still love you, but I don't want Gaea killing you. Act more like you hate me._

"You're insane, Percy!" she shouted. "I can't believe I ever…" She let out a sob, hoping it sounded realistic. But really, she was thinking about something else Percy had said. _I'm the most powerful demigod Nico's ever met. Think about that. _It was like he was telling her not to give up – he'd be okay. Somehow, he'd break away from Gaea and find her again. Annabeth held on to that possibility, if only because she had nothing left.

"Goodbye, Annabeth Chase," Gaea intoned. Annabeth felt the earth dragging at her heels and tried not to panic. "At least, goodbye for now." Then the ground cracked open, Annabeth dropped inside, and she passed out.

* * *

Tartarus was even more terrifying at night – or the Underworld's version of night. During the day, you could at least see the hordes of monsters coming to attack you. But when complete and utter darkness fell, you never knew which way they'd come from.

Annabeth huddled close to Percy, making good use of his body heat in the freezing temperatures. His sword glowed faintly – it was a ray of hope in the gloom, but Annabeth knew that, logically, it was also a flare announcing their location to any monsters in the area. Still, though, she couldn't bring herself to care. Total darkness was a scary thing.

"I still think you should've dropped me," Annabeth said eventually, just to break the silence. "You'd be safer, up there with the others."

Percy leaned his head on hers. "And you'd probably be dead, Wise Girl. Have some sense. You remember what it was like for those six months after Hera kidnapped me! I felt the same way when you were off questing in Rome. I couldn't bear that hopelessness ever again, Annabeth. Better in danger and with you than safe and alone."

Annabeth could just make out Percy's lips. She twisted her head and kissed them. "Besides," he continued. "It's not like I'd be much safer on the surface in the ancient lands."

She laughed softly. "Is it sad and pathetic that I agree with you?"

He smiled – gods, he had the most gorgeous smile – and kissed her again. "I love you so much," he said.

"Back at you, Seaweed Brain," she grinned. Looking into his eyes, Annabeth felt like they were in their own little bubble, blocked out from the rest of the world.

Then a minor monster invaded their bubble. Percy jumped up, swung his sword, and turned it to dust before Annabeth even had a second to react. When he finished, he sat back down and put his arm around her like nothing had happened. "Gods, Percy, how do you _do_ that?" Annabeth said in amazement.

He shrugged. "I'm never going to let anything hurt you – _ever_," he said matter-of-factly. "Not after you took that knife for me last year. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're all right."

"Even defeat monsters like a ninja boss?" Annabeth smiled.

"Hey, I don't do anything _like_ a ninja boss," Percy smirked. "I _am_ a ninja boss. But seriously, Annabeth," he said, getting serious, "no matter what happens while we're down here, you have to promise me something."

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "Sure, Percy. I'd do anything for you."

Percy took a deep breath. "No matter what happens while we're down here, you have to promise not to doubt me. Whatever I do, I do to keep you safe, okay? You have to trust me." His eyes pleaded with her in that adorable way that meant she never won an argument. "Please tell me you'll trust me – you'll believe in me – no matter what kind of crazy things I do."

At the time, Annabeth had thought he was being ridiculous. "Of _course _I'll always trust you, Seaweed Brain." When she saw the desperate look in his eyes, she added, "I _promise_. But I'm a bit offended that you think you have to ask. Now, can we get back to what we were doing before?"

Percy raised his eyebrows, grinning. "What we were doing before? You mean this?" And he leaned in and kissed her gently. All thoughts of promises flew out of her mind.

Now, though, as Annabeth slept, they came rushing back. Percy had always been subjected to even more dreams than the average demigod. Suddenly, Annabeth wondered if he'd somehow known Gaea's forces would capture them the next day. She speculated: Was Percy hoping to stop her from feeling completely and utterly betrayed by warning her gently about what was to come? He was always so awkward about coming right out and admitting things that were big deals – like when he'd tried to ask her out last year (the memory still brought an unbidden smile to Annabeth's lips). Talking about the situation by asking her to trust him – it was the sort of Seaweed Brained thing Percy would do. Besides, they'd been buried so deep in the earth; Gaea could've easily been watching their every move and listening in on their every conversation. That kind of vague question was the most Percy could hope to do safely – right? Annabeth clung to that hope as she rose slowly into consciousness.

* * *

"You're awake!" Piper's arms were crushing Annabeth's windpipe.

"Can't… breathe…" she choked out.

"Sorry." Piper withdrew, checking over her best friend to make sure she was all right. When she was certain, she grinned. "You nearly gave Leo a heart attack, appearing on deck while he was steering like that. He was in hysterics when he came to tell us – something about scary blondes and evil earth goddesses. I don't really know."

Annabeth managed a small smile. "I'm sure it was hilarious, Piper."

"Yeah," Piper said, her own fading. "Everyone was thrilled to see you – we'd been taking the whole two-of-our-friends-just-fell-into-Tartarus thing pretty hard. But… if you're back, shouldn't Percy be with you? Where's he?" Her eyes widened. "He's all right, isn't he?"

Annabeth gulped. "I… The last time I saw him, he looked okay. I think you should maybe get everyone in here." She'd finally noticed she was in sickbay.

Piper nodded slowly. "Oh… all right. You guys can come in now," she called out. Immediately, five more demigods (plus a satyr in a tracksuit) crowded into the room.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "You all just… happened to be in the area, right?"

Frank cleared his throat. "Uh… Yeah. We were just… cleaning the hallway and stuff. You know, because cleaning is important and-"

Hazel nudged him. "Frank?"

"Yeah?"

"You should probably stop now." He blushed and closed his mouth.

Annabeth sighed. Those two looked up to Percy so much – and _everyone_ on this ship admired him. She really didn't want to give them this kind of news. But Percy had wanted her to. Besides, it wasn't like Percy was _really_ evil, right?

Apparently, when she finished, Jason wasn't so sure. "He's on Gaea's side now?" he kept saying. "You were there? He said he was going to help the giants now?"

"No! For the fifteenth time, no!" Annabeth said forcefully. "Percy would _not_ betray us! You don't know him like I do. He was just… protecting me."

Hazel's golden eyes looked at her mournfully. "I know Percy's a good person, Annabeth – an amazing person. But… Well…"

Annabeth tried not to show that she was close to tears. "Look, there were four giants on Gaea's side, and you know we didn't have even _one_ god. We never stood a chance. Percy and I… Gaea told us we were going to be her 'glorious sacrifices' on some altar in Athens. She explained that we were going to be the ones to awaken her. Then Percy…" She swallowed hard. "Percy said, 'Don't be so quick to kill us, Gaea. I think I could be more useful to you alive.' He explained that she would prefer him as, I don't know, a mercenary of sorts. He was so convincing – gods, I'd never seen him like that. Even _I_ almost believed him. At any rate, Gaea seemed to. She took him in and said, 'You don't mind that I want to sacrifice her?' That's when he defended me, saying I wasn't as powerful as, well, you, Hazel, or another child of the Big Three." She was openly crying now. "He said Gaea should aim for sacrificing one of you instead."

Jason coughed. "I'm sorry, Annabeth, but that doesn't sound particularly like he was _defending_ you…"

"No!" Annabeth shouted it through her tears. She cursed. "Don't you see? Percy _had_ to appeal to Gaea and stop her from killing us both, _somehow_! That was the only way he could think to do it! Gods, honestly, it was genius! If I'd thought of it, I would've done the same thing! Styx, Jason, don't you get that?"

"Guys," Leo spoke up, "I agree with Annabeth. And I'm not just saying that because she's a scary blonde genius."

"_Thank_ you!" Annabeth said. "Uh, I think."

"I believe her too," Hazel said. "It's the only thing that makes any sense."

"Same here," Piper said.

"Percy's a good kid, even if you two _do_ really need to be chaperoned when you go out," Coach Hedge added. "He wouldn't refrain from bashing in old Dirt Face's nose without having a really good reason."

"Right," Frank said. "Um, sort of. Without the violence and chaperoning stuff… I agree with Hazel," he finished hurriedly.

Jason scratched his head. "I doubted someone once, for a stupid reason, and regretted it. I'm not going to do that again."

Piper threw her arms around him. "I knew you'd come around eventually."

"It's not that I doubt Percy's character…" Nico said slowly, "but I know Tartarus can really mess with people's minds, and-"

"Nico!" Hazel scolded. "Just agree with us already!"

"I was _kidding_!" he insisted.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. _Gods, Percy,_ she thought._ Why did you have to make this so hard on me?_

* * *

The next day, Piper and Coach Hedge deemed Annabeth well enough to leave sickbay and go on deck. She could hardly believe it had taken her that long to recover. In Tartarus, she'd regarded each injury as a scratch too unimportant to bother telling Percy about it. He'd usually gotten off worse than her in fights anyway (only because he insisted on fighting the most dangerous monsters himself). So when Piper had told her she was surprised Annabeth had lasted this long, she was understandably confused. Piper had then showed Annabeth three deep gashes in her right arm ("don't know how you managed to hold a dagger like that"), a cut running down her shin ("don't know how you managed to run like that"), and discoloration on her side that meant bruised ribs ("don't know how you managed to _breathe_ like that"). A little ambrosia and nectar and some rest had fixed Annabeth right up, but it made her worry about Percy even more. If she'd been _this_ bad, and Percy was even _worse_, then how hurt was _he_? And she didn't think Gaea would give him as much recovery time as Piper and Coach Hedge had allowed her. Gods, she hoped he was all right. After everything they'd been through, if she found out he'd… that Gaea had… well, she didn't think she'd be able to stand it.

All of this ran through Annabeth's mind as she climbed slowly up the stairs onto the deck, trying not to wince and give away how much moving hurt. How had this happened to her? But when she stepped into sunlight for the first time in weeks, she stopped thinking about herself.

Annabeth knew in a glance that something wasn't right. The atmosphere should've felt at least reasonably light. She wasn't dead, and Percy wasn't dead, and nobody else was dead, and the day was so gorgeous that it was hard for even Annabeth to worry _too_ much. _Percy is strong and powerful_, she reminded herself constantly. _He'll be fine._

But there Hazel was, sitting against the mast, clutching something to her chest, and sobbing freely. Frank crouched next to her, trying to comfort her, but Hazel refused to be consoled. Leo kept glancing over at her anxiously, but he had to steer the ship while stopping Coach Hedge from bashing in the railing with his club, so his hands were full. Annabeth didn't understand what was going on, but she ran over to Hazel anyway. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Piper rushing towards their chaperone to try and calm him down. Jason was evidently still asleep. He wasn't around. Neither was Nico.

"Hazel?" Annabeth asked, dropping to Hazel's other side. Frank looked up at her gratefully, as if saying, _help me. I'm not good with girls._ "What's wrong? What's happened?"

Hazel bit back a sob and held out what she was holding. Annabeth's heart climbed into her throat. It was a flat stone she was suddenly sure had come straight from the earth. A message was etched into its surface. Annabeth carefully took the rock from Hazel and held it in the light.

_I've decided to take Percy's advice to heart_, it read. _You will not see Nico di Angelo again. _Annabeth sat back slowly, her mind whirling. "But…" she whispered eventually, "Gaea needs a girl."

Hazel looked at her through red-rimmed eyes. "Wh-what?"

"A girl," Annabeth said. "To awaken Gaea, two demigods need to be sacrificed in Greece – a girl and a boy. She already had Percy – she needs a girl, not Nico. Why would she take _him_?"

Hazel closed her eyes and leaned her head against the mast. "She thinks Percy is on her side now, Annabeth. That means she still needs two demigods."

Annabeth shook her head. "But I was so sure… I thought Gaea was planning on double-crossing Percy and trying to use him as the sacrifice anyway. This doesn't make any sense."

"Does it matter?" Hazel choked out. "Gaea's got Nico again. He was terrified enough after last time. Gods, Annabeth, how will he survive round two?"

"Percy will help him," Annabeth said firmly. "Percy will protect him."

Hazel burst into tears again. "But… Percy was the one who suggested it in the first place!"  
"He didn't actually want Gaea to take you guys!" Annabeth insisted. "He was just trying to stop us from dying in that moment. Nico will be fine," she promised. "Just wait." But inside, she wasn't so sure Percy could do anything about it.

* * *

"Gaea has summoned you." Those were the words Percy woke to. He couldn't help remembering another time someone had woken him up – which led him to remembering how he'd completely betrayed that person just yesterday. He prayed to all the gods he knew that Annabeth had understood what he'd done through the things he'd tried to tell her. She was smart, but so many people had hurt her before… Percy didn't think he could bear it if he became just another person to add to her list. After the Styx she'd been through, Annabeth deserved more than that.

"Gaea has summoned you," the voice repeated. "Hurry it up, demigod." Percy blinked his eyes open. It was only his second day pretending to be a traitor. If Gaea saw through him already, he was in trouble. He hadn't even killed a giant yet. Quickly, he rose and followed the Cyclops. There was no use worrying about what Gaea did or didn't know. He'd find out the truth soon enough.

As he walked, Percy zoned out and thought about everything he'd seen yesterday. One of the giants – his name was Mimas, Percy remembered – had shown him part of the earth goddess's massive army. The giant had acted like he just wanted Percy to know all of those monsters were "on his side", but Percy suspected a deeper message. _Gaea doesn't trust you yet,_ Mimas had seemed to say. _If you screw up, those thousands of demons, drakons, and_ dracaenae _are only the _first _enemies who will try to kill you. She's got a million other forces at her disposal – plus all of us giants. Better not screw up, then, eh, son of Poseidon?_ It was just your average introduction into an army of evil immortal goons.

"We're here," the Cyclops announced. "Gaea has said she will see you alone." It was clear from his voice that he was bitter about Percy's special treatment. _You can take my place any day_, Percy wanted to say. But he was pretty sure that would be a dead giveaway about his true allegiances, so he kept his mouth shut and walked through the stone doors.

Gaea stood in the center of the massive earthen room (her eyes still closed, thank the gods). "Hello, Perseus," she said, smiling creepily. "I have a gift for you. Bring him in," she told her two giant guards. They nodded and disappeared into a side chamber. Moments later, they returned, dragging a comparatively small demigod in with them.

"_Nico_?" Percy asked incredulously. _Styx, what have I gotten that kid into now?_

"Yes," Gaea said with pleasure. "I've taken back that son of Hades. Everything is now as it should be. Nico di Angelo is my prisoner, you are my… assistant, and just when the rest of the seven feel safe, I will capture one of the girls to be the other half of the sacrifice that will awaken me once more."

"But… you've decided to sacrifice _Nico_?" Percy stammered. He'd been sure that by pretending to stick with Gaea, she'd try to kill _him_ at the altar in Athens. He'd thought he'd been _protecting_ the others by suggesting children of the Big Three, but…

"It was _your_ proposal, was it not?" Gaea asked, amusement evident in her tone. "Unless you'd rather I sacrifice _you_ instead."

Percy forced a laugh. "Of course not, goddess! What would make you think _that_?" He avoided looking Nico in the eye.

"I haven't the faintest idea," she said calmly. "I just thought you'd like to know I have Nico here, in case you… _misbehave_ in any way." It was a badly concealed threat, Percy knew.

"Why would that bother me?" Percy strained to keep his voice casual.

"I don't know, son of Poseidon," she said. "You tell me."

Percy scratched his head like he was thinking. "I guess…" he said finally, "that if you killed him off, it would mean you were planning on killing _me_ in Athens instead?"

Gaea laughed. "Is self-preservation the only reason you'd be sorry to see Nico go, Perseus? If so, then you really _are _the best person for this job."

Percy shrugged. "What other reason is there?"

"Very well, then, son of Poseidon," Gaea said. "You may go."

As he walked out the door, Percy hoped that his act had been enough to convince Gaea. But he had a sneaking suspicion she was too smart for that. Nico wasn't really there as a sacrifice – at least, that wasn't Gaea's primary reason. Percy was already here, after all. No, Gaea had taken Nico hostage as a test of Percy's loyalties, and as a threat. She knew that Percy didn't really care if his actions resulted in his death. Saving the world had always been more important to Percy than his own life. But Gaea knew his fatal flaw – to save his friends, Percy would sacrifice the world. That had never bothered him before, but now he wondered just how far he would take his feigned loyalty to protect Nico. Now he knew that for every one of Percy's mistakes, Gaea would torture Nico.

_I won't let it get down to that_, Percy decided. _I'll get Nico out of here if it's the last thing I do. _

* * *

The two Laistrygonian giants guarding Percy had fallen asleep. It was time to act.

Percy slipped through his door and ran lightly to the room where he knew Nico was being kept. Five Laistrygonians and a few snake-women stood around his door. Gaea wasn't taking any chances.

The guards weren't a problem for Percy, though. He uncapped his pen and made short work of the monsters. Then he opened the door. "Nico?"

Instantly, he felt something digging against his throat. It was part of a broken rock – the only thing there was no shortage of in Tartarus. "What are you doing here, Percy?"

Percy held up his hands, holding his sword lightly with two fingers. "Not… here to hurt you." Somehow, he managed to talk around the stone. "Not working… for Gaea. All a ruse… Protect Annabeth… Sorry."

He heard Nico let out a breath behind him. Slowly, the son of Hades took his weapon from Percy's throat. "So Annabeth was right."

Percy flipped around. "She's okay? She's with the others?"

Nico nodded. "She's fine. Coach Hedge healed her injuries."

"Injuries?" Percy resisted the urge to strangle Nico for being so cryptic. He figured that wouldn't necessarily prove he was on the kid's side. "What happened? How'd she get hurt?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Percy. She had some cuts and bruised ribs when she got to us. Considering she'd just come from Tartarus, I found that pretty impressive."

Percy shook his head. "I _knew_ she was lying all those times she told me she wasn't hurt."

Nico snorted. "She's fine, Percy. Wish I could say the same about you."

Percy shrugged. "So I'm in mortal danger every second I stay here, pretending to be Gaea's best friend. So if I make one mistake, she sacrifices me in Athens. She's planning on doing that anyway. At least I can do some damage as long as I stick around."

Nico stared at him, amazed. "Dude, you want to _stay_ here? I thought you came so we could escape."

Percy shook his head again. "Nah. I came so _you_ could escape. I can't magically make you reappear on the _Argo II_, but I can take you to Gaea's direct portal to the House of Hades. She's planning on sending most of her army up there once you guys land in Greece. But anyways, I figure a temple in the mortal world that belongs to your dad is a pretty safe place I can lead you to. Better than being the earth goddess's prisoner, right?"

"Uh, sure," Nico said, obviously still confused. "But… why won't you come with me?"

"We couldn't escape together," Percy explained. "Gaea would send all of her forces after us faster than we could blink. But if I acted like I'd found your cell empty and led some monsters on a wild goose chase through Tartarus (taking them down along the way), you could get to the surface and get an IM to Annabeth and the others. And when I eventually return, empty-handed, alone, and angry, Gaea will trust me more – probably. I can kill a part of Gaea's army, rescue you from this place, and gain her trust all at the same time."

"All right," Nico said reluctantly. "If you're sure you can pull this off."

"No problem," Percy said easily, refusing to let his doubts show. Nico still seemed like a kid to him, even after all this time. He wasn't about to let the son of Hades pay for a mistake Percy had made. "Just one thing, Nico. When you do make that Iris-message… do you think you could tell Annabeth I didn't mean to hurt her? Tell her… well…" He scratched his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry if she felt betrayed. I never stopped caring about her. And make sure she knows I never broke my promise. I never stopped trying to protect her. I hope she's all right. I hope she knows I want that, more than anything."

Nico sighed. "Of course, Percy. But that really sounds like an 'any last words?' kind of speech. Are you _sure_ you'll be okay after I leave?"

Percy nodded. "I'm just covering my bases, Nico. It's a dangerous world down here." He managed a grin. "Now, are we going to stand around arguing, or are we going to get out of here?"

* * *

Percy skidded around the corner, apparently in a wild panic. "Gaea's prisoner is missing!" he yelled at his guards. "Don't just sit there! We've got to find him, or she'll have _all_ of our heads!"

The two Laistrygonians stood up slowly, still half-asleep. "Hurry up!" Percy cried, running past them. "He could be anywhere!"

* * *

"You say you found his cell empty?" Gaea's voice was dangerously soft. Percy knew that if he answered her question wrong, it was over.

He nodded. He didn't have to pretend to be nervous. "Yes, goddess. I went out to try to convince him to join me at your side. I found the scattered dust of his guards and an open cell."

"So you think he fashioned a weapon of some sort and killed his guards?"

Percy knew too much "speculation" would give him away. "I don't know, goddess. I'm just telling you what I found. After that, I assumed he escaped, so I ran and found my guards."

"They weren't with you?"

Percy shrugged. "I know how it looks – like I helped Nico escape. But honestly, when I opened my door, my guards were asleep. I figured I didn't need to wake them up for a trip down the hall. Obviously, if I'd known what I would find, I would've brought them with me."

Gaea nodded slowly. "Very well, son of Poseidon. Now, you are proposing you lead a search party out to look for Nico di Angelo?"

"Yes, goddess. I mean, he must still be in Tartarus somewhere. Unless he somehow found your portal…" Percy trailed off convincingly.

"No, he could not have found that by accident," Gaea agreed. "It's well concealed, as you know. It will be as you've suggested, Perseus. You will go out with fifty of my monsters and look for the son of Hades."

Percy tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you, goddess." His plan was working.

* * *

"Nico?" The demigod in question smiled when he saw Hazel's anxious face come through the Iris-message.

"I'm all right, Hazel," he promised. "Percy made sure of that."

Annabeth's face crowded into the picture. "Percy? Is he okay? Is he with you?"

Nico shook his head sadly. This was the part he'd been dreading. "He helped me escape through a portal Gaea created to reach the House of Hades, but he wouldn't go with me. He had to mislead her forces so she wouldn't follow me, and he said he wanted to do some more damage to her army while he was there. Didn't say how, though…"

Annabeth sighed. "He is such a Seaweed Brain. Doesn't he know he owes me an apology?"

"Uh… about that," Nico said nervously. "He also wanted me to tell you, um, that he was sorry if you felt betrayed. He was only trying to protect you – he said he never stopped trying. He said he never broke his promise. And he said he was glad you were all right, and he hopes you know he cares about you more than anything."

Annabeth stared up at the sky, blinking furiously. "Gods…" She seemed to gather herself together before looking back at Nico. "He still owes me an apology – in person. But I'm glad he's still all right. And I'm glad you're safe." She managed a smile.

Hazel moved back into the picture. "Me too, Nico." She smiled too, in relief. "You have no idea how worried I was. Where are you? In the House of Hades?"  
Nico shook his head. "I thought I'd better put some distance between that place and me, just in case. I'm at a fountain somewhere in Athens, near a place called," he squinted at the cursive sign, cursing his dyslexia, "Café Vienna."

Hazel nodded. "Okay. We're getting close to Athens. As long as we don't run into any… delays, we should get to you in a couple of days."

"Sounds good-" Nico started to say, but he was cut off by a crash that sent Annabeth and Hazel flying out of view. "Guys? What just happened?"

"A delay!" Annabeth was yelling over the sounds of clashing metal and cracking wood. "Something rammed our ship! We'll be okay, Nico! We'll catch up to you soon!"

Nico heard Coach Hedge's voice in the background. "Take that! And that!" Judging by the bursts of green light, Nico figured the satyr was making good use of the ballistae. Then something large and dark flew through the Iris-message, and Nico was left studying a puddle of water in a stone fountain.

* * *

Percy crept up behind the three Earthborn keeping watch and sliced them apart before they could blink. Then he rolled some rocks around in the mud until they were all covered. He quietly ran off and dropped them softly at long intervals, ensuring that the monsters wouldn't reform.

Next, he hurried through the ranks of sleeping monsters, taking down a few at a time – quickly, before they could wake up and discover him. The following morning, none of the remaining creatures seemed to find their comrades' disappearances odd. After all, they were in Tartarus. It was every monster for himself.

* * *

"You've returned empty-handed? And worse, with just _two _Laistrygonians remaining out of your fifty-man army?" Gaea was furious. Percy was glad he'd decided it was too risky to kill off all of his search party. The earth goddess was suspicious enough as it was.

"I'm sorry, goddess," he said, feigning anxiousness. "I searched for days, but I couldn't find Nico. I don't know where he could be." _Hopefully on the _Argo II _with the others_, he thought, but he didn't say that. "And you know as well as I do that Tartarus is a dangerous place." He shrugged. "We fought many enemies. Not all of us made it out."

That part was actually true. Percy hadn't had to kill off all of his army. About a third were killed in full view of the other monsters during fights. It solidified the remaining two Laistrygonians' belief that their comrades had died fighting other beasts during the night, which Percy was grateful for.

Gaea shook her head in disgust. "I created many of the monsters in this place – and for the remaining creatures, my descendants did. And yet they still don't all follow me."

Percy forced a sad sigh. "It's very unfortunate, goddess. And it probably didn't help that I was there. Some monsters still don't… _trust_ me."

At that, Gaea smiled. "I wonder why? You've made adversaries out of the monsters you've met during your lifetime. Few, if any, would ever be willing to forgive you, Perseus. I hope you'll minimize the enemies you make out of _my_ forces."

Percy nodded obediently. "I'll try, goddess."

Gaea tilted her head. It was creepy how she seemed to be looking _right_ at him through closed eyelids. "All right, son of Poseidon. But for now, rest. Your former friends are very close to the House of Hades. Soon, we will have to meet them at the Doors of Death. I will test your loyalties then."

"You know I decided a while ago where I stand," Percy said slowly. He didn't want to lie, in case it gave him away somehow. "I don't see why you feel the need to keep testing me."

"Nevertheless, I am," Gaea said. "Now leave me. I have much to ponder before we pull the gods up by their roots once and for all."

* * *

Annabeth was drowning in a sea of enemies. They'd managed to reach Athens with a giant hole in the _Argo II_'s hull. They'd found Nico and entered the House of Hades. But as soon as they'd walked through those doors, Gaea's armies had attacked. And Gaea had a lot of monsters in her army.

Leo was on fire, literally – he'd set himself ablaze and run at fifty or so snake-women all by himself. Frank had naturally decided to fight in the other side of the room, attacking wave after wave of _karpoi_ and Earthborn. Hazel stood next to him, of course, and Nico had summoned quite a few skeleton warriors to help him defeat Cyclopes and Laistrygonians. Piper was taking down some twisted hippo-alligator-human hybrids that even Annabeth didn't have a name for, and Jason was holding off a giant while frantically praying for godly assistance. But Annabeth didn't have much time to pay attention to that. They were all fighting plenty of monsters, for sure, but there were so many that at least five hundred remained. And all of those creatures had turned towards Annabeth.

Which, coincidentally, she found totally unfair. "Why are you going after _me_?" she shouted angrily as she turned an _empousa_ to dust. "I'm the one who doesn't have _any_ special powers, remember?"

"Meaning that you're the easiest to overpower," a _dracaena_ hissed, right before Annabeth stabbed her knife through its stomach.

"And Gaea still wants you and the son of Poseidon to be the ones who awaken her," another monster added, taking up the explanation. "She still doesn't fully trust him, although she's making use of his powers for now."

"She's making _use_ of him?" Annabeth cried. "How?"

"Many ancient, powerful water spirits residing in Tartarus were refusing on taking sides. Gaea sent the son of Poseidon into their waters, and before long, spirit after spirit was signing up to join the ranks of her army. We don't know what Perseus told them, but it certainly worked."

Annabeth scowled. What was her Seaweed Brain _thinking_, helping Gaea stock her army with monsters like that? Out of pure frustration, she killed the monster talking to her. She turned to another. "Then where are they? I don't see any water spirits out here."

The monster smiled eerily. "You will, daughter of Athena, soon enough. Gaea is saving them to be her secret weapon." The monster's grin was freaking Annabeth out. She killed it quickly.

"So you want to take me alive?" she said to another, changing the subject.

"That is the goddess's orders."

Annabeth smirked and killed all of the enemies around her. "Then you're at a disadvantage. I don't have _any_ qualms about destroying all of you." To prove her point, ten more were introduced to her knife.

But Annabeth's revenge was short-lived. Twenty-five monsters later, a tide of water swept through the Doors of Death, disintegrating seventy monsters on the spot, dousing Leo's fire, and almost drowning Nico before Hazel pulled him out of the way. Frank turned into a dragon and rocketed fifteen feet into the air. Annabeth hopped behind a pillar and watched the water rush past her. "Everyone okay?" she called out.

"Sort of!" Jason yelled. She glanced around her shield and saw him holding Piper and flying towards Leo, who was freaking out but unharmed for now. Frank was already diving for Hazel and Nico, who were barely hanging onto the edge of some scaffolding. Then the water started to close around Annabeth too, and she grabbed her pillar to keep from being swept away. Water had never really scared her, especially after she'd met Percy, but now she was terrified. What had the monster said? That the water spirits would be Gaea's secret weapon? As the water gushed higher and higher, Annabeth worried that the monster would be right, and they'd all drown here in the House of Hades.

And then suddenly the water disappeared just as quickly as it had rushed in. Annabeth found herself hugging the pillar for no reason, her feet firmly on dry ground. Frank set down Hazel and Nico carefully before dropping to the floor and turning human again. Jason and Piper flew down as well. "What… just happened?" Leo asked, shaking his head like a wet dog.

"I don't know," Piper said slowly, "but whatever it was, it just got rid of all our monsters for us."

Annabeth twisted around in amazement. Piper was right. The armies of minions they'd all been fighting had been reduced to drifting piles of golden dust. Now, as her panic subsided, Annabeth remembered something else the monster had said. She walked cautiously towards the open Doors, a swirling black portal leading straight to Tartarus. "Percy?"

He walked out of the portal like it was a regular old doorway, scolding a bunch of blue-or-green-skinned half-men or half-women humanoids who looked a thousand times older than Percy. "I told you guys that you weren't allowed to hurt the demigods!"

"But they're fine!" one insisted. "It was just a bit of fun!"

"And we did what you asked," another grumbled. "We killed all those monsters for you."

Percy rolled his eyes. "Like you didn't enjoy that. I _know_ you guys enjoyed that."

"Well… maybe just a little," a third admitted. "They were terrible polluters."

"And now you're free, just like I promised you would be," Percy said. "I'd appreciate a thank-you right about now."

A little boy with sky-blue skin stepped out from among their ranks and threw his arms around Percy's legs. "Tank-oo Po-see! We fwee now!"

"You heard my son," the first water spirit said. "We will be eternally grateful to you, Perseus Jackson." He looked at his buddies. "Let us go to the Mare Nostrum, brothers and sisters!" They all cheered and dissolved into water vapor, pouring out into Athens. It was like their disappearance woke Annabeth from a trance or something. She ran at Percy and crushed him in a hug, planting her lips on his. He staggered in surprise.

The others could stare all they wanted; Annabeth was done caring. She leaned into Percy and he leaned into her. _I want to do this forever_, she thought. But then they broke apart. "I knew you didn't really betray me," she whispered, looking into his beautiful green eyes.

"I couldn't even if I wanted to," Percy responded. "I love you too much." He sealed the deal with another kiss.

When it was over (too soon), Percy and Annabeth finally turned to face everyone else. They were all awkwardly averting their eyes. Annabeth laughed and leaned her head on Percy's shoulder. "All right, guys. We're done now."

"So…" Leo said, changing the subject. "How'd you get out of there, Percy?"

He shrugged. "Gaea wanted me to get all those water spirits to join her, and I was all, 'Okay, goddess! I exist to do your bidding!' or some nonsense like that. But instead, I explained to them that if they pretended to team up with Gaea and destroyed her armies at the right moment, I could set them free. They were all sick of staying in Tartarus for so long and accepted. Then, after she sent over half of her army up to kill you guys, I attacked my personal bodyguards and started destroying the remaining ranks of monsters. The water spirits helped, of course, and although Gaea was freaking out and kept sending more monsters at us, we reached the Tartarus side of the Doors pretty easily. After that, I told the spirits to drown the armies Gaea had sent into Greece. I also told them to avoid you guys, but they kind of ignored that part. Sorry. But I got them to stop, and then I walked through, and you know the rest."

Annabeth threw her arms around him again. "You are amazing, and I forgive you for pretending to join Gaea." The buried fear and resentment she'd been hiding ever since Tartarus had dissolved as soon as she'd seen Percy step through the Doors, alive and saving the day once again.

He smiled at the first part, "Thank you," and winced at the second. "And I'm sorry about all of that."

"I know you didn't have a choice," Annabeth said. "And you did save my life then, and saved _all _of ours just now. So it's okay."

"But…" Jason said. "What about the giant I was fighting?"

Percy grinned. "Oh. Well, one of the water spirits was actually a minor god, and he was all too happy to kill that giant in exchange for freedom."

"And what about closing the Doors?" Nico added.

His grin vanished. "One of the spirits volunteered to stay behind…. But yeah. We need to do that." He took a step towards the Doors of Death and stumbled. Annabeth steadied him.

"Seaweed Brain?"

He smiled wryly at her. "I did say we got out _pretty_ easily."

Nico hurried forward. "I can do it."

Leo followed him. "I'll help."

The son of Hades nodded, already examining the golden locks on the Doors. "Good. How do we do this?"

At that moment, about one hundred fresh and extra-large monsters rushed through. Luckily, they ignored the two demigods by the Doors. Not so luckily, they headed straight for Annabeth.

Percy cursed beside her. "I thought you said you destroyed _both _halves of Gaea's army!" she protested, drawing her dagger once again.

"I thought I did!" he insisted. "She obviously didn't tell me everything. Smart of her," he added, grinning, as he uncapped his pen, "seeing as I destroyed everything she _did_ tell me about."

Annabeth snorted and met the wave of monsters with Percy next to her. The others rushed forward too. They were involved in yet _another_ desperate fight for their lives so that they could save the world, but since they were all powerful demigods, Annabeth wasn't really surprised. In fact, she _liked_ her odds. Because they were all alive and mostly unhurt – and Percy had managed to break away from Gaea's forces, defeat most of them, and join her. After that, anything was possible. Annabeth was fighting with her Seaweed Brain at her side. They would be fine.

* * *

**Sorry about the long author's note earlier, but the lack of reviewing is kind of getting on my nerves... :P**


	7. Heaven

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! That's all I ask for. :)**

**This pairing is Lacy and Connor... I'm pretty sure I'm the only person in all of fanfiction to think of putting them together, but that's okay. I hope you enjoy anyways! :D **

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own PJO, and (unless you're Rick Riordan) neither do you. Sorry, guys. ;)**

* * *

**7. Heaven**

Okay, maybe Connor's a _little_ older than me. Maybe he's two _years _older than me. But as my mom would say, love doesn't pay any attention to silly limits like age differences.

Hi! My name's Lacy, and I've had a crush on Connor Stoll ever since he told me I was beautiful. It was the day Mom claimed me. I was wearing a soft white dress that flowed to my gold-sandal-clad feet, my blond hair was in a glamorous ponytail instead of pigtails, and my braces had magically disappeared, thanks to Mom's blessing. I was feeling pretty beautiful already, but when Connor told me I looked nice, I swear, I just about _glowed_.

Of course, he'd only been talking to me so that I'd be distracted while Travis replaced my shampoo with shaving cream. But I like to think that he meant those words.

Anyway, that was over two years ago. I was barely ten years old, and hardly knew what love was. Now, though, I'm nearly thirteen, Connor's nearly fifteen, and Piper McLean has just taken over Drew's role as head counselor. With Piper in charge, people have stopped making fun of my braces – which are coming off tomorrow, by the way. With Piper in charge, my sisters and brothers have stopped being afraid to talk to me, I've gotten three helpful beauty tips from them in the last week, and Drew _complimented my bracelet_ yesterday. Yes, times are changing, and I, Lacy Penelope Terrace, am ready to take on my biggest challenge yet – getting Connor Stoll to notice me.

* * *

It's now December 14th, and I have officially gotten my braces removed. Sure, my mouth is a bit sore, but my teeth are pearly white and perfectly straight. Earlier this morning, I took out my normal pigtails, borrowed my sister's curling iron, and created natural waves in my blond hair. Earlier this morning, I carefully applied foundation and mascara and shimmering eye shadow and light pink lip-gloss. Earlier this morning, I slipped into my favorite outfit – a bouncy pink shirt and my most flattering jeans, with golden flats (I would've worn the golden sandals my mom gave me, as a good-luck charm, but it's winter). And now I feel as though I could take on the world. After that, Connor Stoll shouldn't be much of a challenge.

Just as I'm about to walk out the door, my older sister Amelia strolls in. She's everything I wish I could be, just like Piper is, and just like Sadie Kane is at my school back in Brooklyn – tall, a teenager, naturally beautiful, and confident. Basically, if someone told me I looked like Amelia, it'd be about the biggest compliment they could give. "Hey, Lace," she says with a smile. Then she stops and grabs my shoulder lightly. "Wait a second," she gasps. "Lace, are you wearing _makeup_?"

I blush down to my golden flats. "What? Do I look stupid?"

"No, no!" A wide smile crosses her face. "You look _amazing_, Lace. Whatever guy you're trying to impress, you'll have him _begging_ to go out with you."

I blush again. "How did you know this is about a guy?"

She laughs. "Lacy, we're daughters of Aphrodite. When is it ever _not _about a guy?"

I smile. "I guess."

"Anyways, Lace," she continues, "you look great, like I said. But there's one thing that would make you a perfect ten."

I look at her apprehensively. "Is it red lipstick? Because I've told Marina over and over again that I will _not_ wear red lipstick, no matter how 'cute' it would look on me."

Amelia laughs again. "It's not lipstick, Lacy." She reaches over her head and takes off her own golden necklace, with a shining golden heart charm. "I just think this would complement those golden flats _perfectly_."

My eyes widen. "_Really?_" I ask, dumbfounded, as she slips her necklace over me. "You're going to let me wear _your_ necklace?"

She grins. "When I wore this for the first time, the guy I had a crush on asked me out. Maybe you'll have the same luck."

I giggle a little. "Thanks, Amelia. That's really nice of you." Maybe I don't need my mom's sandals to be my good luck charm after all.

"No problem. But just a warning – I don't think I'll be able to let you wear it again. The second time _I_ did, the guy I was going out with broke up with me."

I gasp. "Oh, Amelia, that's terrible!"

She shrugs. "No, it was for the best. The guy I was going out with was Luke Castellan. Anyway, good luck, Lace! You can tell me all about it later."

I hug her quickly. "Thanks again, Amelia."

She smiles. "Go get 'im, sis."

I don't wait for her to say it twice – in a flash, I'm out the door.

* * *

Now, if I were Connor Stoll (which I wouldn't want to be, since I have a crush on him – _that'd_ be awkward), where would I be on a sunny Thursday morning in Camp Half-Blood? I suppress a grin as the answer comes to me. I'd be in the Big House, preparing to be reprimanded for some new prank, of course! I sigh happily. Connor is just _so_ clever. And handsome. And athletic. And amazing in every way. And if I can do this right, Connor could also soon be my boyfriend. The thought brings a smile to my face, and I wait casually on the grass for him. Mitchell, my slightly older brother, comes over soon.

"Hey, Lace! What's up?"

I squint up at him, the sun in my eyes. "I'm just waiting for Connor to come out of the Big House. What's up with you?"

He sits down next to me and grins. "I'm just waiting for Kayla to finish up at the archery range."

I smile. "Want to wait together?"

"Sure, Lace," he says. "You look really put-together this morning, by the way. I think it's the hair."

I raise an eyebrow and smile wider at him. "Or the lack of braces." I appraise his outfit – casual button-down blue shirt (not tucked-in, of course) and cargo shorts. "You look good too, Mitchell. Definitely ready to take on Kayla."

He grins wryly. "Yeah. If she shoots me, at least I'll die looking unbelievably handsome."

I laugh. "I see you've got plenty of self-confidence, Mitchell. That's good. Girls like that."

"Oh, I've got plenty of confidence, Lace," Mitchell promises. "After all, I _am_ the coolest guy in our cabin."

"Of course you are," I say encouragingly. "Although, seeing as there are only two other guys in our cabin at the moment, that's not particularly impressive."

He punches me in the arm lightly. "Shut up, Lace. I am so incredibly impressive that it will blow your mind."

And then I'm leaning against him and cracking up. "There's a difference between self-confidence and arrogance, Mitchell."

"Shut up, Lace," he says again. Then his tone changes instantly, becoming urgent. "Kayla's coming, Lace! What should I do?"

I sober up. Love is a serious matter. "Be yourself, Mitchell. And remember what I said – girls like self-confidence, but there's a difference between self-confidence and arrogance."

"I know," he agrees. "Now get off of me so I can look dignified."

I oblige. "Go walk over there, Mitchell! She needs to know you're interested. But don't _run_ – you don't want to look desperate." When flirting, every move must be carefully orchestrated.

"Thanks, Lace. Good luck."

"Back at you." And then he's gone, and I'm back to waiting for Connor.

It doesn't take long for him to come out. He flips his gorgeous brown hair carelessly as he walks down the steps. _Gods_, I love that boy.

For once, he's not with Travis. Maybe Chiron asked for separate audiences or something. Whatever the reason, I'm glad – Travis is even older than Connor, and that makes him intimidating. It's hard enough to initiate a conversation with your crush without having his older brother standing right next to him. I imagine that Amelia's necklace is already giving me good luck, and that gives me enough courage to stand up and walk over to Connor.

He sees me coming and quirks his amazing half-smile in my direction. "Hey, Lacy! How's it going?"

As naturally as I can manage, I slide into place next to him. My heart's pounding, and I'm afraid I'm blushing, but I hope he can't tell. I look up at him and show off my new and improved smile. "I _finally_ got my braces off."

He grins again. "It looks good, Lace." I try not to pass out. _Connor Stoll just complimented me!_ "I had braces when I was ten. They were a pain. But they were worth it."

"Yeah, your smile is perfect now," I say without thinking. Then I backpedal furiously, afraid I've just made a fool of myself. "I mean, as far as smiles go, you know, yours isn't bad."

"Thank you," he says sincerely. That should've sent a warning light off in my head – Connor Stoll is _never_ sincere – but I'm too caught up in his smile to care. Suddenly, I realize we've walked halfway down the green, and we're still talking, and I haven't said anything _really_ embarrassing yet. I feel immensely proud. "And you know, Lace," he continues, "it's more than your lack of braces that looks good. Your hair is especially golden today." I twist a strand of my natural-looking waves around my finger and hold down a ditzy-girl giggle that threatens to escape me. The curling iron paid off! "And just overall, you look… really _nice_," he tells me.

I'm so happy that I think I could die. I could not have imagined this conversation going any better. "Thanks," I manage.

He smiles beautifully again. "Sure, Lace. Now, I'm really sorry about this, but I've got to go into my cabin now – talk to Travis and the others, you know." I hadn't even realized that we'd gotten all the way to Cabin 11. "But, uh, if you'd like, we could talk more later. I was actually planning on going to look for you if you didn't come up to me. I'd like your help with an… _experiment_ I'm, uh, testing. It involves the Demeter cabin. Can I count on your assistance?"

"_Yes!_" I squeal. "I mean, uh, sure, why not?"

"Cool. Could you meet me by the dock in an hour? I can tell you more then."

"Yes," I say, a little too quickly, "yes, that would be great. I'll see you in an hour, Connor."

He gives me one last grin. "Okay, Lace. See you soon." Then he disappears through his cabin door. When I'm sure he can't see me, I twirl and spin, giggling, and then race off to the dock. I'll spend the entire hour there, just to make sure I'm not late.

Along the way, Mitchell sees me. "Hey, Lace!" he yells, running to catch up to me. "Where are you going?"

"To the canoe dock!" I say, almost _singing_ the words. "I'm meeting Connor there in an hour!"

To my surprise, Mitchell doesn't seem as happy with the news as I am. "Did he say _why_ he wanted to meet you there?"

"Yes…" I say slowly. "He wants to talk about some experiment that has to do with the Demeter cabin."

Mitchell sighs. "Lacy, I think Connor's going to use you to pull a prank."

"So?"

"Are you serious?" he asks in astonishment. "Lace, you could get into _so_ much trouble!"

I shrug. "I don't care! Connor asked _me_ to help him! _Me_, and no one else!" I'm flying, I'm soaring, I'm on top of the world, and nothing Mitchell can say can stop me. So what if I was about to pull a prank and possibly get into loads of trouble? I'd be pulling a prank and possibly getting into loads of trouble _with Connor_.

"Okay, Lace," he says slowly. "If I can't change your mind about this, I guess I _can_ be happy that you had a real conversation with Connor."

"Yes!" I smile, twirling again. "Be happy, Mitchell! This is the best day _ever!_ Amelia's necklace worked!" After all, Connor asked me to meet him at the canoe dock, right? That _totally_ counts as our first date! Then I gasp. "That reminds me. Mitchell, how'd it go with Kayla?"

At that, a slow smile spread across his face. "Lacy, I am no longer single."

I squeal again and throw my arms around my brother. "Oh, Mitchell, that's _great!_ I'm so happy for you! This really _is_ the best day ever!"

His grin widens. "Thanks, Lace. Now, go on to the dock. I know you don't want to be late."

I don't need to be asked twice. I dance my way to the canoe lake, singing and smiling the whole way. Amelia's necklace worked! Connor asked me on a date! I know suddenly that _this_ is what heaven feels like.

* * *

**Next prompt is Innocence. **

**Any thoughts?**


	8. Innocence

**Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! It's nice to know that I'm not posting to myself... :P**

**Anyway, although most of these oneshots won't relate to each other, this is one of the exceptions. It's a continuation of Heaven in Connor's POV. :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Roses may still be red; violets may still be blue; but I'm _definitely_ still not a famous writer; it's sad, but it's true.**

* * *

**8. Innocence**

"How'd it go, Connor?" It's the first thing Travis asks as I walk through the door.

I smirk. "Dude, I'm Connor-freaking-Stoll! How do you _think_ it went?"

Chris laughs. "In other words, 'it went terribly, Travis, but I don't want you to know that so I'm going to act like I did awesome'."

I raise my eyebrows. "I am offended! Lacy Terrace _adores_ me, Rodriguez. She agreed to meet me by the dock, no problem."

Travis cuts in. "Okay, that's great. Chris, shut up." Sometimes I really hate that Travis is older than me. When _he_ tells Chris to shut up, Chris shuts up. It's not cool. "Now, how are we going to do this?" We spend most of my allotted hour planning carefully. It's pretty funny, actually. Normally, we ADHD sons of Hermes only put this much detail into planning pranks.

"All right," Parker says. She's fairly new, but we've already utilized her creativity to pull off five pranks that had never successfully been completed before – which will go down in history as the Cucumber Incident, the Friday Flag Fire, the T-Shirt Toss-Up, the Bronze Basketball Catastrophe, and the Strawberry Smash pranks, respectively. I think Travis is glad we have such an innovative addition to this cabin to help plan this… experiment. "It's nearly noon. You'd better get going, Connor. Remember – fall into the water at twelve twenty-two _exactly_."

"I know, I know," I grumble, walking towards the door. It's only the _fiftieth time_ I've been lectured on the plan, after all. "If you think I'm going to screw up so royally, then why did you choose to let _me_ go do this?"

"You're _not_ going to screw up royally," Travis says confidently. "At least, you'd better not, or else _I_ am going to be screwed for life." He adds the threat almost as an afterthought. I bite back my witty retort. I'm still not used to Travis being this serious about… about _anything_, really. And certainly not about this.

Nevertheless, I nod encouragingly to my cabin mates at the door and shout our camp motto. "Cabin Eleven For the Win!"

"Cabin Eleven For the Win!" they shout back.

I grin. "Let's do this."

* * *

I find Lacy sitting on the dock, her toes dipping into the naiad-infested waters. For a second, I freeze, because her hair really _is_ glimmering gold in the sunlight, and she looks so blissful and innocent there by the lake. I almost feel bad for stringing her along like this. And I feel terrible for what I'll have to do to her at approximately twelve twenty-three. But then I shake off my guilt and stride forward. It's not like I _actually_ asked her out, right? "Hey, Lace," I say confidently, my hands shoved in my pockets in what I hope is a cool way, not a dorky one.

If it is dorky, Lacy doesn't seem to mind. At the sound of my voice, she turns around with an ecstatic smile and pulls her feet out of the water.

"Hi, Connor," she says shyly. It's a weird feeling, knowing a girl who has a crush on _me_. Usually they seem to go for Travis, just because he's older. It _sucks_. But Lacy likes me, and no one else. I have to admit, it's kind of nice.

We're quiet for a minute, as I try to find a way to break some news to Lacy. But before I do, she speaks up. "Um… So, what's this 'experiment' you were talking about before? 'Cause I mean, I'd prefer it if you didn't implicate me in anything, well, _illegal_." I almost laugh – because for once, I'm actually _not_ doing anything illegal – but before I can respond, she rushes on. "Because Mitchell told me you were just using me to pull some prank and then put the blame on me instead, and I mean, I wouldn't _mind_ doing it with you, but then my cabin would get a bad reputation…. But it's okay if that's what you want me to do…. I'd just, I don't know, I'd like to believe that this 'experiment' isn't the only reason you were inviting me out here today." She finishes softly, looking down at her wet toes.

That feeling of guilt comes rushing back, and then suddenly I'm talking so fast that I don't really know what I'm saying. This was _not_ part of the plan. "I didn't invite you out here to take the fall for a prank, Lace," I say earnestly. "I promise. Travis needs some help with Katie, is all."

A gleam of light begins to glow in Lacy's eyes. I figured it would. She _is_ a daughter of Aphrodite, after all. "I see," she says, grinning a little. "In that case, I'm happy to help. What do you need me to do?"

It wasn't part of the plan for Lacy to know the details of our experiment either, but I find myself deciding to explain everything anyways. I feel like I owe it to her. Besides, the truth would ease my conscience a little, I realize with surprise. Who knew I even still _had _one of those?

But before I can say anything, my watch reads twelve-ten and I glance over at the cabins. "Oh, Styx," I mutter under my breath.

"What is it?" Lacy asks anxiously.

I smile reassuringly at her. "It's nothing. It's just almost time for the, uh, experiment, and Katie's not in her usual spot." Most of the time, Katie likes to hang outside of her cabin at this time of day, pruning the rose bushes, watering the pansies, and doing whatever else it is gardeners do. "Unfortunately, she needs to be here for this to work."

"Of course she isn't in her usual spot!" Lacy says with surprise. "It's the second Thursday of the month, isn't it?"

I stare at her uncomprehendingly. "So?"

She rolls her eyes. "Katie takes the little ones out to the strawberry fields every Tuesday and on the second Thursday of each month. She teaches them to care for plants there, along with Miranda and a few others."

I sigh in relief. Maybe it _is_ a good idea to read Lacy in. But not to the original plan, which is mean to her anyways. The more time I spend with Lacy, the more I realize that I don't want to hurt her, and now I want to laugh because I _can't_, for Travis's sake. It's more important for Katie to be here when I topple into the water than for me to break Lacy's heart doing the original plan, and I've decided that Lacy is the one that has to go find Katie, since she knows where she is. In my improved version of the plan, _that_ is going to be her job, not… well, not what her job was before.

Hurriedly, I tell Lacy my modified plan, which I'm honestly making up as I go along. I try to act confident so she can't tell. "So basically, we need Katie here, and I need you to do that. Can you do that, Lace?"

She hesitates. "How?"

I try to be encouraging. "You're a smart girl. You'll figure it out."

She laughs, still a bit nervous. "Okay. If you're sure."

"I trust you, Lace," I promise her. "You can do this."

Her eyes light up instantly. "You really trust me?"

"Of course, Lace," I say sincerely. The funny thing is, I mean it.

Lacy doesn't need any more encouragement. She runs off to the strawberry fields happily, and I find myself looking at her back with a weird expression on my face. I shake my head to clear it. So what if her hair had glinted gold again just then? So what if I kind of liked the way her blue eyes sparkled? _Focus, Stoll, focus_, I tell myself sternly. _You have a job to do as well, and Travis is counting on you._

* * *

I'm reclining on the dock when I hear Katie and Lacy coming from across the green. It's twelve twenty-one. "So what's wrong with your little brother, Lace?" Katie is asking.

"Oh, it's not a big deal," Lacy promises. "He's just convinced that his toothpaste is poisoned, and his breath is really starting to stink."

Katie laughs. "Little kids." In all honesty, Lacy's almost a little kid herself. At least, she would be if we were normal here at camp. But she's had problems just like any other demigod. Most of the time, she's about the most innocent girl I know – but I've seen her concentrating fiercely as she hurls knives at a target. At times like those, I'm reminded that no one at Camp Half-Blood is truly innocent.

"He's in your cabin, right?" Katie is still talking about Lacy's little brother, Andrew. As far as I know, he doesn't have any problems with toothpaste. But Lacy is good.

"I _think_ so," she says convincingly. "It's really nice of you to come and help me out, by the way…"

It's twelve twenty-two. I take a deep breath and yell out, "Oh, hi Katie! Hi, Lace!"

"Hi," Katie yells back. "What's up?" She doesn't say a name because she's too far away to tell if I'm Travis or Connor (which is kind of the point).

I jump up like I'm going to run over to them, but then, with exaggerated clumsiness, I step off the dock into air and tumble backwards into the lake. It's more fun than throwing water balloons at Hunters (mostly because the lake isn't about to shoot dangerous sharp objects at me).

When I come up for air, spluttering, I see that Katie's run over and is panting as she looks over the edge of the dock. "Are you all right – Oh. It's just you, Connor." She sounds way less worried once she realizes it's me. "Er… I mean, you know, of course I want to know if you're all right too." I hide a grin as I clamber out of the water. We were right. She's _totally_ into Travis. As long as he doesn't screw up completely when he asks her out, the answer will be yes.

Lacy gives me a hand as I stand up. "Gods, Connor. You really need to be more careful." She laughs and reaches out to touch my soaking wet hair, looking up at me with her blue eyes. I try for an easygoing signature Stoll half-smile and hope I don't look too red. When did Lacy Terrace get so beautiful?

Katie coughs. "Anyway, Lacy… Should we go find Andrew now?"

Lacy slaps a hand to her forehead with a genuine "I'm-an-idiot" facial expression. "I just remembered – he's going into the woods with Tommy, Jake, and a few other sons of Hephaestus today. They're looking for some kind of fancy rock. I told him he could go because I don't want him going on the lava wall until he's older, and that's what my cabin's doing later. Sorry for dragging you out here… But I think I can handle him when he gets back. Thanks for your advice! You can return to your strawberry-picking now."

"Actually," I interrupt, "I think Travis is looking for you, Katie. He's either in the stables or the sword fighting arena or… Oh, he said he would look for you in the strawberry patch if he couldn't find you anywhere else." All of this is a lie. Travis is actually hiding under a nearby canoe right now, listening to this entire conversation. After Katie leaves, he'll wait a few minutes before going casually off to wherever she ends up. Then he'll act like the whole thing was just one huge coincidence and have a conversation that will hopefully lead up to him getting the courage to ask her out.

"Oh, _Styx_," Katie says now. "Travis? In the strawberry patch? _Alone with all of the little kids in my cabin? _That will _not_ end well. Miranda can't handle him by herself. I've got to go. Bye Lacy! Bye Connor…" And she runs off.

Soon enough, Travis emerges from under the canoe. "What in _Hades _was that all about?" he shouts. "You… You _told_ Lacy! And… you sent her off for Katie instead of… You _completely_ changed the plan, Connor!"

"It worked, didn't it?" I retort defensively, wishing that he hadn't just mentioned my modifications of the plan in front of Lacy. I don't want her to know how close I was to being ridiculously mean to her. "Now, don't you have to casually walk off to the strawberry patch now?"

Travis grins sheepishly. Where Katie is concerned, he can't stay mad for long. It's easy enough to make him happy or embarrassed instead. "I guess so. Wish me luck, Stoll."

"We don't need luck, Stoll," I say, returning his grin. "You heard how worried Katie was when she thought you had fallen into the lake. You'll be fine."

"Thanks, Connor." He walks off casually in the direction of the strawberry patch, and I turn to Lacy.

"He'll be fine, right?"

She laughs. "Most likely."

I groan. "She'd better say yes, or he'll blame _me_ for changing the plan on him. Gods, that would suck."

Lacy cocks her head. "Speaking of which…. If I wasn't supposed to run off to find Katie in the original plan, and you weren't even supposed to _tell_ me the plan in the original plan… Well, then, what _was_ the original plan? And how was I in it?"

I really don't want to answer this question, so I avoid it completely. "It was just something stupid that never would've worked anyway," I promise. "That's why I changed it. Don't tell Parker that, though."

Lacy nods like she understands, but I see something in her eyes that tells me she can guess what the original plan might've been and is really hurt but trying to hide it. I instantly feel ashamed. "Anyways," she says softly, "I guess now that your experiment was so successful you'll want to go celebrate with the rest of Cabin 11, right?" She looks away, but I've already seen something close to tears in her eyes. "I… I guess I'll see you around, Connor."

"What?" I say with surprise. "What are you talking about, Lace?" She turns around. Her eyebrows are raised, but I can tell she's trying hard not to look too hopeful. "There's no way I could've pulled this thing off without you!" I grin at her. "You were, like, essential to our success! Didn't you think you'd be invited to Cabin 11's celebration party tonight for that?" In all honesty, I hadn't planned on inviting her before. I'd thought I was going to break her heart before. But I really do want Lacy to come tonight. I tell myself it's just because I feel bad for deceiving her.

She smiles sadly. "You don't have to invite me if you don't want me there, Connor. I'd understand."

"Are you kidding?" I say honestly. It's probably the tenth time I've been honest today. What is wrong with me? "Of _course_ I want you there, Lace!" And then, because I just want to see her blue eyes light up and sparkle like they did when she saw me this morning near the Big House, I add, "But you know, the party doesn't start for like eight hours. We have a ton of time. What do you want to do before then?"

Lacy blinks slowly. She blinks again. "You mean… you want to spend the entire day with _me_?"

When I'd first met Lacy, I'd thought of her as an innocent little kid. But now I know that she's beautiful and confident and smart, and that she has a devious side to rival any child of Hermes. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to get Katie over here. Finally, I admit it to myself – as crazy as it seems, I might actually possibly maybe sort of like Lacy Terrace. So I smile as genuinely as a Stoll brother can smile. "Yes, Lace. Yes, I do."

I'm rewarded by a smile that lights up her entire face and makes her eyes glimmer like I'd hoped they would. And that's when I realize that I would do anything to keep Lacy's eyes sparkling.

* * *

**Next up is Drive.**

**Any thoughts?**


	9. Drive

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**This is the last chapter that I have completed, so unfortunately it might be a little longer than usual before I update again...**

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* * *

**9. Drive**

For once, Leo is in the forges. I use the opportunity to examine him from afar while pretending to work. After all, I have to take care of my little brother, our newest member of Cabin Nine, and our head counselor, even though he doesn't make it easy. Especially because he doesn't make it easy.

I haven't seen Leo in three days. He spends eighty percent of his time in Bunker Nine, building the massive ship that will carry him, Jason, Piper, and Annabeth off to California in a few months. He claims that he eats, drinks, and sleeps in there, but I can't be sure. The rest of us are only allowed in when he needs help fitting in some huge sheet of Celestial bronze or when he wants us to double-check one of his calculations. Not that they ever _need_ double-checking. In my opinion, Leo is just as much of a genius as Annabeth is, just with different strengths.

The other twenty percent of the time, he's supposedly doing normal camp activities. Sometimes he eats in the dining hall with us, on most weeks he plays Capture-the-Flag, and he even sleeps in our cabin on occasion. But even then, I can tell that Leo isn't really free from worrying about the _Argo II_. I see him stop chewing in the middle of his favorite meal to pull out a pen from that tool belt of his and scribble down some measurement on the back of his hand. Halfway through a Capture-the-Flag game, an event might give him an idea, and he starts smoking with excitement and has to leave before he burns down a dryad tree. And whenever he _does_ sleep in our cabin, I wake up in the middle of the night because a light is burning in Beckendorf's old bed.

I want to _force_ Leo to take better care of himself, but I can't. Even though he might be my little brother, he's also head counselor, which makes it a bit harder to stage an intervention. Besides, I don't like to admit it, but the hard work _is_ necessary if we want to get the _Argo II_ off the ground on schedule. Still, I think he's going a bit over-the-top.

Lost in my thoughts, I nearly pound my thumb with my hammer instead of the sword I'm forging. Jake yells a warning just in time, so that I direct the force to the correct part of the sword a second before I would have hit myself. I look over at him. "Thanks for the save."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "No problem, Nyssa. But you're not usually distracted like that. What's up?"

I jerk my head towards Leo, who looks worn and starving and exhausted but trying not to show it, and Jake understands immediately. Slowly, a grin breaks across his face. "All right, guys!" he announces. "It's nearly two. I don't know about you, but _I_ am up for lunch."

"Great idea, Jake!" I say, winking. "Cabin lunchtime! Let's all go."

Harley is the first out the door, practically _running_ to the dining hall. Jake follows him to make sure the kid doesn't do anything stupid, and the rest of my brothers and sisters are close behind. All except for Leo.

"Come on, Valdez," I say. "You've got to eat too."

"Yeah, sure, in a minute, Nys," he says, barely hearing me. He's bent over something small and delicate, making minute taps with a tiny hammer.

"Fine," I say, starting to walk towards the door. Then, when he's in between hammer taps, I dash over and snatch the contraption out of his hand.

"_Nyssa_!" He turns toward me, exasperated. "I was almost _done_!"

"Yeah, right," I say, rolling my eyes and slipping the thing into my pocket. "You were 'almost done' an _hour_ ago. It looks fine to me."

"No, you don't _get_ it," he says. "It's for one of the controls in the helm, and it has to be fitted into a _very_ exact socket and…" He launches into a long-winded explanation that I don't bother listening to.

"Mm-hm, I'm sure it's very important," I say, grabbing onto his arm, "but it can wait until after lunch." I start to drag him out the door, but he clutches the worktable leg.

"_Nyssa_," he complains, "I only have two months before it's time to fly to California, and I still have a _lot_ of work to do! I have to finish that helm component, and then I have four others to forge, and then I have to run back to Bunker Nine and fit them in and program more of the controls, and _then_…"

"Save it, Leo," I tell him matter-of-factly. "I know you're busy. I know you're driven. I know that if you had your way, you would be working around the clock." I grin. "But you're _not_ going to have your way. Too much drive can be a bad thing, Leo. I'm not going to let you work yourself to death."

He starts to protest, but I ruffle his hair. "Lunch first, Repair Boy. Then we can _all_ get working on your helm components."

* * *

**Yay, random pointless sibling drabble! I just... I want Leo to be happy and not overwork himself _so badly_... :P**

**Any thoughts?**


	10. Breathe Again

**Hooray for 55 reviews! You guys make my day when you review, I'm serious. :) That was most definitely the most reviews I've ever gotten for one installment of this . . . can I call it a story? It's more like an anthology. . . . Anyways, thanks again for all the reviews! And congratulations to krikanalo for being the 50th reviewer!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. . . . Except for the poetry. I can claim that much. :)**

* * *

** 10. Breathe Again**

The war games were going perfectly, for once. Thanks to that new kid, Percy Jackson, the Fifth Cohort was winning for the first time since Jason Grace had become praetor. Dakota was so exhilarated, he had dropped his flask of Kool-Aid during the fight and didn't even mind. He was too busy screaming victory cries and injuring Octavian's uppity minions without a shred of guilt. Then he saw Hannibal and whooped with pure happiness. The elephant was carrying three excited demigods, but even more importantly, a banner was flapping around above his back! They had the flag! Percy, Frank, and Hazel - the three newest members of Camp Jupiter - _had the flag_! The Fifth Cohort was about to earn the respect it deserved! Dakota cleared a path for the Kevlar-vested elephant and was about to follow him out of the fort when he remembered Gwen. Had she seen the banners? Did she know?

He turned and saw her, green eyes flashing with excitement, dark hair swinging as she spun to block a sword thrust and return it with one of her own. She looked at him and grinned. Before he could stop himself, Dakota wondered if maybe when the war games were officially over for the night, Gwen might agree to go order pizza in New Rome with him... Strictly as colleagues, of course. _Yeah, just like Reyna and Jason were "colleagues", _part of him thought - the crazy part that especially liked to come out when he'd had too much to drink (which was most of the time). The part that somehow believed that he had a chance with a girl as kind and beautiful as Gwen.

Dakota mentally shushed that part of his brain and thrust himself back into the fight to hide his embarrassment from Gwen. He fought for maybe half a minute before the cry for help pierced the din of the battle.

As soon as Dakota heard the sound, he knew something unspeakably awful had just happened. He turned as the sound of metal-on-metal slowly faded into the background. It took maybe two seconds for him to process what he was seeing. Then he pushed his way through the ranks of legionnaires.

A girl was sprawled across the ground, a _pilum_ through her stomach. Her hair had fallen across her face, but Dakota didn't need to see her features to know it was Gwen. _His _Gwen. The girl that had kept all their spirits up during the seemingly hopeless battle of Mount Orthrys. The girl that was always optimistic, no matter what the circumstances. The girl that was always ready with a smile and a laugh to cheer anyone up on their toughest days. The one girl Dakota knew that didn't mind working with him - that even _enjoyed _working with him. The most perfect girl in living memory, in Dakota's personal opinion (when he was sober enough to _have_ personal opinions, that is). That girl was lying half-dead on the floor.

It had taken two seconds for Dakota to process it because he simply didn't believe it was happening. He had momentarily convinced himself that she was a terrifying hallucination, brought on by _way_ too much Kool-Aid. But after two seconds, he knew it was true. His brain could never come up with something so painful.

After far too much time (about twelve seconds), Dakota reached his fellow centurion's side. Mackenzie, another member of his cohort, was already there. She was the one who had called for help. "Oh, gods," Dakota said as he knelt down. "How bad..." He trailed off as more blood leaked out around the spear. He didn't need to ask how bad she was. He could see it for himself. So he just repeated, "Oh, gods."

Mackenzie nodded tearfully. "I was standing next to her, and we were both so happy when we saw the banners being carried out. Then I turned away for just a second, and when I looked back..." She gestured wordlessly, tears forming in her eyes.

"Okay," Dakota said, trying to calm himself. Kool-Aid had set him on the verge of insanity before, but this was beyond that. This was cold terror. This was _hysteria_. "Okay," he repeated. "Get a stretcher. Bring a medic. In the name of Jupiter, bring thirty medics. No, just bring a stretcher. We'll bring her out to the medics; it'll be faster."

Mackenzie nodded and ran off. Dakota grabbed Gwen's hand. It was cold - far too cold. "Stay with me, Gwen," he muttered. "I need you. Stay with me, or I swear to all the gods that I will use your full name."

Her eyes fluttered open. "Kota..." she whispered. She looked exhausted and pained.

"Shh, Gwen, save your breath," he pleaded. "You're going to be fine. Just relax. Breathe nice and slow, in... and out..." He repeated the mantra until her eyes closed and her breathing calmed. Dakota gripped her hand tighter and tried not to think about how weak her pulse was. _Where in Pluto's name was Mackenzie?_

And then she was there, dragging a stretcher behind her, looking terrified. "Is she going to be all right, Dakota?" Mackenzie asked nervously.

Dakota choked on dry air, which only worried him more. If _he_ couldn't even breathe right now, how was _Gwen_ supposed to? "She'll be..." Dakota couldn't lie. Looking at Gwen, he had _no idea_ if she would be all right. "Let's just get her to the medics, okay, Mackenzie?"

She nodded, gulping down tears, and put the stretcher next to Gwen. Dakota picked her up and laid her in it on her side, so that the _pilum_ wouldn't get wedged in more. He was_ so careful_. But despite his best efforts, she woke up again, gasping in pain. "Kota... It _hurts_..."

"It's _okay_, Gwen," he insisted. Funny how he couldn't lie to Mackenzie, but he could lie to Gwen. Maybe that was because Gwen's life was on the line, and Dakota was going to make sure that she suffered as little as possible. That she was scared as little as possible. "Everything's going to be okay." He was reassuring himself as much as her, but Gwen didn't seem to mind. She smiled at him weakly, and then her eyes drooped shut.

Mackenzie let out a sob. "She's still alive!" he told her, half-annoyed. "Now stop bawling and grab that end!"

Mackenzie nodded balefully and picked up the side with Gwen's feet while Dakota gently lifted her head. Together, they hurried forward as fast as they could while being incredibly cautious. "The game is won!" Dakota heard from somewhere overhead. "Assemble for honors!" He couldn't believe anyone was still celebrating. Gwen was... Gwen was _dying_. There. He'd admitted it. She was _dying_. And everybody around him was _happy_. It seemed impossible. It seemed insane. It seemed flat-out _cruel_. No one should be excited while Gwen was in danger.

Luckily, it was easy to hurry out of the fortress. Everyone had already assembled outside, which was good because Dakota thought he probably would have stabbed anyone who got in his way. "Help!" he shouted as they brought Gwen out. But no one heard him. They were too busy cheering.

Dakota's curly hair practically bristled in anger. _Gwen was dying, and people were cheering_. He summoned all of the excess energy he'd built up from years of Kool-Aid and thrust it into a new yell. _"Help!"_

Finally, people took notice. A few people rushed forwards. At first, Dakota thought they were gawking spectators and nearly yelled at them before he realized that they were medics. Medics, _finally_. But were they too late?

The medics spoke, and in some back corner of his brain, Dakota realized that they wanted him to put Gwen's stretcher on the grass. He complied, and then took a quarter-step back and looked down at Gwen's pale skin. She wasn't usually so pale, or still, or quiet. She was usually tan, alive, and full of energy. This was bad. _This was _so_ bad._

"No, no, no..." The voice sounded like Frank, but Dakota didn't bother looking up to confirm. All that mattered was Gwen. All he cared about was Gwen.

The medics forced everyone backwards, but Dakota only moved a few inches. If Gwen needed him again, he would be here.

The medics did medic-y stuff - tried to give Gwen nectar, tried to staunch the flow of blood with gauze, tried to use powdered unicorn horn to heal her - but Dakota didn't pay close attention. He was too busy staring at Gwen's pale face._ Wake up, Gwen_, he begged. _Please, open your eyes. You're my best friend, and... And maybe even more than that. You _have_ to wake up. Please. _

One of the medics looked up, looked at Reyna with pain in his eyes. _No. Stop. Don't say it - don't say_ anything. _Gwen is_ going _to be all right_.

In the end, the medic didn't say anything. He just shook his head.

Dakota's breath caught hard in his throat, cutting through his esophagus like a knife. He was choking on his own air. If Gwen couldn't breathe, then neither would he.

He would have collapsed, but he was frozen in place. His entire world had just been chopped into pieces, diced with a knife as sharp and unforgiving as... Well, as Death. There was nothing more sharp and unforgiving than Death.

After a shock like that, Dakota didn't know if he would ever be able to move again. Styx, he didn't know if he would ever be able to _breathe_ again.

"There will be an investigation. Whoever did this, you cost..." Reyna's voice swept through Dakota's ears like the noise in a conch shell. The words sounded vaguely interesting, but Dakota couldn't process what they meant.

Reyna continued to speak, but her words faded into an unintelligible _whoosh_. Dakota could hear his blood moving in his ears. He could feel his lungs aching, begging for air. But Dakota couldn't open his mouth to breathe. Gwen's death had broken his vital systems, kept them from working properly. Breathing had stopped being subconscious and natural. It would take effort for him to force new air into his lungs, and at the moment, Dakota didn't have the energy to try. So his lungs burned. So what? Gwen was _gone_.

Maybe one of Dakota's bodily functions was still working after all. Tears were leaking out of the corners of his eyes, streaming down his cheeks, and dotting his shirt. But he didn't care. His shirt was already covered with blood anyway - Gwen's blood. A bit of water didn't matter.

The pain in Dakota's lungs sharpened. He wanted to gulp in air, but he couldn't find the willpower. _Please, Gwen,_ he thought. _I literally can't live without you. I _need_ you. Just... Wake up? Please? For me? And more importantly, for yourself?_

Gwen stayed as pale as the steel knife that seemed to be stabbing Dakota in the heart and the lungs simultaneously. She was _dead_. The medics had said so. Dakota could see it with his watering blue eyes. And then...

Suddenly, she wasn't dead anymore. She gasped. The medic had shaken his head, but Gwen had just _gasped_. She was breathing. She was conscious.

In other words, she was _alive_.

Dakota sighed in pure relief. And that was how he discovered that once he was sure Gwen would be okay, his vital systems had restarted - and suddenly, Dakota had been able to breathe again too.

* * *

_If your heart stops beating, _

_Then mine will stop too._

_I live for you._

* * *

_If you stop breathing,_

_Then I will turn blue._

_I live for you._

* * *

_Your smile is my sustenance,_

_Your laugh quenches my thirst._

_I would fly away with the angels, if first you flew._

_I live for you._

* * *

_The sun shines, but it doesn't smile down on me._

_I'm a freak._

_They all say so._

_Even the sun, and the stars, and the moon._

_The birds twitter in the forest, but they don't laugh for me._

_They don't care_

_About the crazy boy_

_With the red mouth and wild eyes._

* * *

_But _you_ do,_

_For your heart is true._

_And so _

_I live for you._

* * *

_If your heart beats forever,_

_My blood will never stay blue._

_I live for you._

* * *

_If you promise to always breathe again,_

_Then maybe I can breathe too._

_Because I live for you._

* * *

_Always._

* * *

**Next installment is Memory.**

**Love this oneshot? Hate it? Feel no emotion whatsoever towards it? Have a suggestion for next time? Have a thought about the poetry? Have nothing to say other than that it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either? Tell me in a review! I'd love to hear whatever you have to say****. :)**


	11. Memory

**Sorry for the slow update! But for one, I had to actually write this chapter. The lovely pre-written days are behind me. :'( Also, I've been really busy the last couple of weeks. And school's starting up soon too, so all future updates will probably be this slow as well. Maybe even slower, depending on how crazy my life gets. Sorry. But I can't help it. :/**

**On a happier note, thank you for the reviews from last chapter! They were lovely. :)**

**And just so you know, this is set post-TLH. Although that should become apparent soon enough. ;)**

**That's all! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

* * *

**11. Memory**

"Annabeth! Annabeth, thank gods. I need your advice."

Annabeth turned around and saw Leo running towards her. Machine oil was slicking his hair back in weird places, his clothes were wrinkled, one suspender was falling down, and the edges of his long-sleeved work shirt were singed. He had obviously been working odd hours in Bunker Nine again.

Annabeth forced a smile onto her face, hiding the thoughts rushing behind her stormy gray eyes. "What is it, Leo? You sound urgent."

Leo ran a hand through his hair; then, realizing how haphazard it was, he quickly mussed it up more to make it look purposeful. "I pulled an all-nighter trying to fix the doohickey that's attached to the whatchamacallit which controls the hammersmitcher that helps regulate the cumbersill. I was sure that it would work when I plugged it in again, but . . ." He ruffled his hair again, a sheepish grin on his face. "Well, it didn't. Can you come over to Bunker Nine and offer me any suggestions?"

Annabeth hesitated. "Have you asked Nyssa?"

But he was already nodding. "Nyssa, and Jake, and Alex, and Pierce, and even Harley. None of them could help me."

She raised her eyebrows. "Leo Valdez, genius mechanic, _and_ his genius cabin mates couldn't figure out an answer? And you think _I_ can?"

He laughed quietly, the sound nearly sticking to his throat. "You're _Annabeth Chase_, extra-genius daughter of Athena. Who _else_ could?"

Annabeth hesitated again. "Are you _sure_ you need me? I mean, you've only pulled one all-nighter so far. . . ."

Leo snorted. "Okay, maybe '_an_ all-nighter' was an understatement. . . . Try, I don't know, three?"

After that, Annabeth realized that there was really no way to squirm out of this. Leo needed her help. Her plans were going to have to wait.

"All right, Leo," she said, grudgingly taking her first steps towards Bunker Nine. "So tell me again - the doohickey is supposed to be attached to the whatchamacallit which controls _what_?"

* * *

Annabeth entered the dining hall, oil dripping from her hair even more profusely than it had from Leo's. She wondered how long it would take her to wash _that_ out tonight.

"Annabeth!" Elise waved at her from the end of the table. "Where have you been all day?"

Annabeth blew one of the only clean strands of hair out of her face. "Fixing the doohickey that attaches to the whatchamacallit that controls the hammersmitcher that regulates the cumbersill in the engine room in the _Argo II_."

Elise frowned sympathetically. "Sounds time-consuming."

Dropping into the chair next to Elise, Annabeth glared at her plate until it filled with a perfectly cooked steak and French green beans. "It _was_," she complained. "I was supposed to do cabin inspection this morning, and teach Greek mythology, and practice sparring, and instead Leo and I spent _hours_ on a tiny contraption as big as my _palm_. My _palm_, Elise! Do you have any idea how _difficult_ that was?"

Elise didn't answer immediately. "Hello? Elise?" Elise was silent. Annabeth started to worry. "_Elise_?" She hesitated. Elise's eyes - gray like their mom's - were shining strangely. "You look upset. What's going on?"

"I . . . I don't want to bother you about anything. . . ."

Annabeth's worry escalated, and she forced yet another smile onto her face, pushing her emotions down. She hadn't meant to spill her annoyance like that. She was supposed to be strong, unfazed despite her . . . situation. Whether or not she was unhappy, it wasn't fair to pour her feelings onto Elise - especially since her sister seemed to have a few problems herself, if Annabeth was reading her eyes right. And if there was one skill Annabeth prided herself on (besides architecture), it was reading people.

"It's nothing, Elise," Annabeth promised brightly. "I'm just being moody. What do you want to talk about?"

Something seemed to crack in Elise's eyes. Annabeth took it as a warning sign. If they didn't get out now, the crack would widen and shatter, and Annabeth didn't want Elise to burst into tears in front of the entire camp. Her little sister would be embarrassed for days.

Annabeth took one longing glance at her untouched lunch, and then she turned back to Elise. "How about we go back to Cabin Six? You can talk to me there."

* * *

Two hours later, Elise and Annabeth emerged from their cabin, both looking noticeably better than they had at lunch. Annabeth had taken the shower she needed, and her blond hair was freshly clean and blow-dried. More importantly, Elise had spilled her problems to Annabeth and felt much better afterwards. She hadn't even cried - much. The problems had been boy-related (with Elise, they always were), but Annabeth had helped her work through it. Eventually, Elise had admitted that going on a date with a son of Hecate who had a _really_ bad permanent record (and not just because he had been subject to the usual monster attacks and freak accidents) probably hadn't been logical in the first place, and it was all for the best that he had ignored her ever since.

"Thank you, Annabeth," Elise said as they walked onto the green. "I needed that."

Annabeth offered a small smile, ignoring the sharp hunger pangs in her stomach. "I could tell," she said. "Glad I could help."

"So where are we supposed to be going now?" Elise asked. "Sword-fighting? Lava-wall-climbing? Do you know?"

Annabeth hesitated. "I think the rest of our cabin is at archery, actually, but would you mind going ahead of me? I still have to, uh, catch up on cabin inspection and . . . things." She cursed herself for using both "uh" and "things" in one sentence. Her mother would be _so_ disappointed in her pitiful vocabulary.

Elise, however, didn't seem to notice. "Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten that you had been working on the doohickey for Leo all morning," she said, smiling. "Go ahead and do whatever you need to. I'll cover for you."

Annabeth nodded gratefully, already turning around. "Thanks, Elise. See you at dinner!" She tried to sound cheerful and carefree, but it was hard. She wanted to run off immediately, but she really did need to do cabin inspection - or at least, she had to find someone willing to do it for her. So instead, she walked quickly back to Cabin Six, grabbed her clipboard and pencil, and strode off in search of Piper McLean.

* * *

She found the daughter of Aphrodite sitting on the beach, drawing patterns in the sand. It hurt Annabeth's chest just to be so near the ocean, but she held down the urge to sprint into the waves and sat next to Piper. "Hello," she said slowly. "What are you doing here?"

Piper shrugged, an easy smile on her lips. "My cabin's painting each other's nails again," she said, looking distastefully at the remnants of hot pink polish on her nails. "I wasn't about to get involved in _that_. Jason's sword-fighting in the arena. Leo's busy in Bunker Nine, as usual. And I haven't seen you all day. I didn't have anywhere else to go. Besides, the ocean is peaceful."

"Definitely," Annabeth agreed, trying not to show just what the ocean meant to _her_. "Well, if you're looking for something to do, would you mind doing cabin inspection for me?"

"Now?" Piper asked in surprise. "It's after four, Annabeth. Isn't cabin inspection supposed to happen in the morning?"

"Leo needed my help. I was working all morning," Annabeth explained. "The _Argo II_ is more important than a cabin inspection to me."

Piper seemed to understand the meaning behind that sentence better than Annabeth had intended for her to. "I get it," she said softly. "Of course I'll do cabin inspection for you, Annabeth."

"Thanks," Annabeth said, forcing a smile. "I'd say I owe you one, but I really don't. After all, I did do cabin inspection for you that time when you and Jason were, um . . . _occupied_."

She laughed as a flush crept onto Piper's cheeks. "That was _once!_" the daughter of Aphrodite protested.

Annabeth handed over her clipboard and pencil, still grinning. "I know," she said. "But it still happened."

Piper glared. "Well, now we're even," she said. "So there's no need to mention that anymore, okay?"

"Really, Piper, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," Annabeth laughed. "I used to sneak off all the time with Per. . . ." Her smile faded. "Anyway, thanks again. I guess I'll see you later."

Piper hesitated, but something in Annabeth's expression must have kept her from saying anything. Instead, she just touched Annabeth's shoulder comfortingly and walked off.

* * *

Annabeth could have stayed at the beach for hours, staring sadly out to sea, but of course the Fates had other plans for her. Within ten minutes, Katie saw her and ran over.

"Annabeth!" she exclaimed, panting a little. "I've been looking everywhere for you." _A_ _lot_ _of_ _people_ _seem_ _to_ _have_ _been_ _doing_ _that_ _today_, Annabeth thought dryly.

But all she said was, "Why? Is something wrong?"

Katie tilted her head. "Annabeth, are you okay? You seem . . . distant."

_I_ am_ being distant, _Annabeth wanted to say. _Today is kind of a big deal to me. I just want to be alone for it, okay? _But that wasn't strictly true. There was one person in particular that Annabeth would _love_ to be spending the day with. But she was logical. She knew her wish was impossible. Besides, Katie had obviously spent a lot of time looking for her. It would be rude and selfish for Annabeth to push her away. So instead of snapping at the daughter of Demeter, Annabeth smiled at her. "Sorry, Katie. I was just thinkng. What is it?"

Katie sighed. "What do you think? It's Travis again. He thinks scaring my little sister with monster horror stories is a good way to flirt with me, and when I tried to set him straight, he just laughed and said, 'Oh, you know you like it, Kit-Kat.'" She huffed in annoyance. "Can you please go over to my cabin and set him straight?"

Annabeth couldn't help but smile, even on a day like today. "Have you ever considered just admitting that you _do_ like him, Katie? Then he might stop with the pranks and surprise appearances and monster horror stories."

"Are you _kidding_?" Katie asked in horror. "If I admitted that, he would think the horror stories _worked_ and lord that over me for_ever_. Besides . . . I don't want him to make fun of me when he doesn't feel the same way."

Annabeth snorted. "Katie, I don't think you understand the definition of 'flirting'. When a guy flirts with you, that means he likes you. If you like him back, then everything is perfect! You can start dating, and both of you are happy."

Katie made a face. "Well . . . the first thing I said would still be true. He would still get the wrong idea about the horror stories."

Annabeth withheld a sigh. She would just have to put her plans aside for a little longer. "All right, Katie. I'll help you."

* * *

Travis quickly stopped bothering Melly after Annabeth talked to him, setting her glare on "death-to-the-pesky-imbecile" mode. And once she had hinted that they weren't impressing Katie one bit, he had even promised to stop _all _Demeter-related pranks for a while. All in all, Annabeth counted it as a flawless victory.

Of _course_, she hadn't been able to start her plans immediately after that. Piper had come back from cabin inspection with a worried crease between her eyebrows, and Annabeth had had to follow her to the Hypnos cabin. #15 had always been decorated with a poplar branch that dropped water from the River Lethe into tin cups. However, now the water was spilling out of the cups and dripping everywhere. Everyone had evacuated to avoid getting splashed and losing their memories, and the sleepy campers were _not_ happy about it. Annabeth had been forced to enlist the help of Nyssa (because Leo was too engrossed in the _Argo II_ to be bothered with anything else), and together, they had designed an automaton that vacuumed up the overflowing water and replaced the tin cups with bigger ones. But that was only a temporary fix. _Then_ they had had to make plans for a draining and recycling system that would keep the Lethe-water from overflowing again. Nyssa had promised to oversee the construction tomorrow, and Annabeth had thought that she could finally get back to her plans. But naturally, that didn't happen. As soon as she stepped out of Cabin Fifteen, the conch shell blew for dinner - and Annabeth had already skipped lunch. Her stomach refused to miss another meal.

Throughout dinner, all Annabeth could think about were her plans, slowly drifting farther and farther out of reach. Her siblings coerced her into small talk and joking, and Annabeth forced a grin onto her face the entire meal, waiting desperately for dinner to end in her mind. After at least an hour, all the demigods _finally_ drifted off to the nightly campfire, and Annabeth could _finally _slip away in the crowd. Immediately, she sprinted back to her cabin, grabbed a sweatshirt, and rushed back outside.

She hurried across the deserted commons, rushed through the strawberry field, and _finally_ ended up at the outskirts of the canoe lake. She had _finally_ reached her destination.

Annabeth set her blanket down on the dock, hauled one of the few single-person canoes out of the shed, and carried it down to the edge of the lake. She set it gently in the water, dashed back to the shed to grab an oar, tossed her sweatshirt into the canoe, hopped in next to it, and paddled quickly out into the middle of the water before someone could find her with _another_ plea for help. She accomplished all these actions as fast as possible, knowing that if she hesitated a second longer, she would be interrupted again. Only when she reached the middle of the lake did Annabeth think about why she had been planning on this all day. That was when she broke down in tears.

She pulled the hoodie over her head, not caring that her tears were soaking the fabric. She pressed one sleeve to her nose, but that only made her cry harder. The sweatshirt smelled like lemon shampoo. That was _her _scent. But the sweatshirt was supposed to smell like Percy.

The baggy sleeves hung down over her hands as Annabeth wrapped her arms around herself and lay back in the bottom of the canoe. Tears continued to leak out of the corners of her eyes, blurring the stars into streaks of light, but she didn't wipe them away. The salt in the water reminded her of Percy. If the sweatshirt failed her, at least she had her tears.

Annabeth lifted her hands to her eyes, obscuring her vision with fabric. If she couldn't see the rest of the empty canoe, she could pretend that Percy was in it with her. Then she didn't feel like a nut for talking to herself.

"Percy, I love you." She started all her imaginary conversations this way. It seemed important for her missing boyfriend to know that. "I never told you because it seemed too soon. We had been dating for less than four months before you . . . Anyway, it's true. I love you.

"I'm going to pretend that wherever you are, you remember me. Jason didn't remember a thing about his old life when he first woke up, and you might not have either. You still might not. But I'm going to pretend that you do because I want to celebrate our six-month anniversary. It's pretty . . . " She choked down a new sob. "Well, it's a pretty big milestone. I wish you could be here, but this is the next best thing." She smiled through her tears, acknowledging that she was being sappy and impractical, and choosing to ignore it. "People think that these months shouldn't count towards our . . . what should I call it? A dating timeline? Anyway, they think that we're still days away from our four-month anniversary, instead of being together for half-a-year already. But just because you're not here . . . How should I say this? I know that we'd still be together if you _were_ here. Therefore, I'm not going to set us back two and a half months just because Hera screwed with our lives again."

Annabeth started crying anew, and suddenly, it seemed important to keep the sweatshirt uncontaminated. She didn't want it to start smelling even _more_ like her - it was Percy's, and it would remain Percy's until he officially gave it to her. It was supposed to smell like saltwater and sea air, not like lemons. Annabeth yanked the sweatshirt off her head and laid it carefully next to her.

The tears fell harder. She thrust words out between sobs.

"Percy . . . I feel like a wreck. Everyone . . . looks up to _me _. . . to be leader now. But I can't . . . replace . . . _you_. I need _both_ of us . . . working this job. This is too much . . . for me. I always thought . . . I could lead . . . on my _own_. And I _could_. But now that I know . . . what it's like to lead with _you_ . . . I don't ever want to go back to being . . . on my own. Ever." She tried to force herself to calm down, but the tears just kept falling. Every day, Annabeth had to put on a smiling facade and help the countless people who needed her assistance. She couldn't afford to look weak, lovesick, or crazy in front of them. But Percy had always understood her. He was the one person who allowed her to be human every once in a while - to let her marble shield crack so that her emotions could stream through the cracks. Somehow, Annabeth thought that it was okay to cry a little - even a lot - tonight. Percy wouldn't have minded. Percy would have wrapped her in a hug and promised her that everything would be all right.

Slowly, Annabeth picked up the sweatshirt again and nestled her face in it. Maybe his sweatshirt would be strong enough to take his place for a while.

Annabeth had built up two months' worth of tears while she led her camp alone. She released every one of those broken sobs now, wondering if the saltwater from her tears would make the sweatshirt smell like Percy again. She cried and cried until eventually, her stormy gray cloud-eyes finished raining. Percy's sweatshirt was soaked and crumpled, but Annabeth's soul felt whole again. She laid her boyfriend's hoodie out to dry and started talking again, a genuine smile on her face now. The rants and tears were over for today. A six-month anniversary was a cause for celebration and storytelling, not an occasion for a sob-fest.

"I'm sorry I'm so late," she told him. "I was planning on spending the whole day out here, remembering how much fun we had here on your 16th birthday." She smiled mischievously, as the memory drifted up to the top of her thoughts. "But a lot of people held me up. You would have no _idea_ how busy I was today." She relayed the events of the day, from the doohickey to the leaking Lethe-water. Just talking to Percy - even an imaginary Percy - was therapeutic. Annabeth could feel stress and tension easing out of her shoulders. She told her boyfriend funny stories and talked out loud about their past dates and monster fights (which sometimes turned out to be close to the same thing). While she spoke, she traced her fingers across the water and rested her other arm on the edge of the canoe, until slowly her head drifted down to land on her arm, and Annabeth's ramblings trailed into a dream.

* * *

_"Annabeth, you're cold."_

_It wasn't a question. Percy was examining the daughter of Athena as they walked towards her cabin after the campfire. _

_Still, she tried to deny it. "Percy, we're at _camp_," she protested. "It's _never _cold here!"_

_"Doesn't matter," he insisted. "You're shivering."_

_The truth was, Annabeth had been out Christmas shopping in New York the week before, and she was pretty sure the freezing temperatures had given her a cold. But she wasn't about to admit that. She held back a sneeze and glared at him. "I'm fine."_

_"You're not," Percy said, grinning. "And I'm not going to stop bugging you until you admit it."_

_Annabeth hesitated, but eventually, he got so annoying that she threw her arms up in frustration. "Fine! I'm cold!" She shook her head. "Gods. If you weren't you, I would have punched you five minutes ago for being so_ aggravating._"_

_"Ah, but I _am_ me," Percy said cheekily. "And so instead of punching me, you'll wear my sweatshirt to warm yourself up."_

_Annabeth barely protested. She had been eyeing it all day, and it looked _so_ comfortable._

_Percy helped her pull it on, smiling when the cuffs hung over her hands. Annabeth quickly rolled them up before he could make some infuriating comment. She missed the days when she had been taller than him. _

_"Better?" he asked._

_"Mmmm." She shrugged. "But I could still use a _bit_ more heat."_

_"I don't have another coat, Wise Girl."_

_Annabeth almost laughed at how adorably obtuse Percy was, but she managed to turn it into a derisive snort instead.__ "I don't _want_ another coat, genius. That was code for 'Put your arm around me, Seaweed Brain'."_

_"Oh." He did as she suggested, and she settled into his shoulder as they walked. There was silence for a few more steps, and then he asked, "Why didn't you just say that?"_

_Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless. 'Put your arm around me, Seaweed Brain' is not _nearly _as romantic."_

_"Yes, but it's clearer," Percy grinned. "And wouldn't you, as a daughter of Athena, appreciate clarity in instructions?"_

_"Oh my _gods_," Annabeth complained. "You're _such_ an idiot sometimes, you know that?"_

_They had reached her cabin door. Percy withdrew his arm from Annabeth's shoulders and turned towards her. "I'm going to take that as code for 'Kiss me goodnight, Seaweed Brain__'," he said, grinning crookedly. And he did._

_The curse of Achilles kept Percy from catching colds, right?_

_Annabeth clutched the front of his shirt, leaning in for a second kiss._

_Yeah._

_She thought so too._

* * *

_It wasn't until Annabeth was changing into pajamas that she realized that she was still wearing Percy's sweatshirt. But she didn't bother pulling on real clothes again and running out to find him. She just pulled the hoodie back over her before climbing into bed._

_Hey, it was warm._

_Besides, she could always give it to him tomorrow._

* * *

_That never happened. The next day, Annabeth discovered his empty cabin._

_Her Seaweed Brain was missing._

* * *

Annabeth woke up with a start, feeling like she was falling. Then she realized she _was _falling. The canoe was close to tipping over.

She scrambled into the middle of the canoe and then crouched completely still, clutching onto a seat as the boat rocked furiously from side to side. By some miracle, it didn't capsize. Annabeth was glad. She didn't want Percy's sweatshirt to get any wetter than it already was. Besides, she figured she would have a hard time explaining soaking clothes to her siblings.

_Her siblings._ Annabeth checked the sky. Thankfully, the first signs of dawn hadn't invaded the darkness yet. She could easily make it back to her cabin before even the earliest risers woke up. And if anybody asked, she had been helping Leo at the forges and lost track of time. The guy was in there morning, noon, and night. She doubted anyone would question her alibi.

Quickly, Annabeth paddled back to the dock, sneaking a last regretful look at the middle of the canoe lake. It would have been nice to reminisce all night, delving deeper and deeper into her mental chest of Seaweed Brain memories, but she didn't have a choice. She had to get back before she was missed. Besides, at least she had gotten out there eventually. She had spent a little time with Percy, in spirit if not in body. That was what mattered.

* * *

_"Percy, you are a world-class Seaweed Brain," Annabeth announced, walking up to him while he was in the sword-fighting arena one day._

_He stopped attacking the dummy immediately, and she saw panic fill his eyes. She could imagine what he was thinking. Was it their two-month anniversary _already_? Hadn't it only been _days _since the last one? Or were they supposed to have a six-week anniversary as well, and he'd missed it? _

_Trying for nonchalance (and failing miserably, in Annabeth's opinion), Percy leaned on his sword hilt. "Like that's supposed to be news," he said, attempting a grin. "What is it this time?"_

_Annabeth cocked an eyebrow. "You don't _know_? You don't _remember_? What kind of boyfriend _are _you?"_

_His panic changed to flat-out terror. "L-look, Annabeth," he stuttered, "whatever you think I forgot, I, erm, didn't forget. It just, uh, temporarily slipped my mind. Can you, uh, remind me, please?"_

_Annabeth couldn't hold in her laughter anymore. A chuckle escaped._

_Instantly, his fear turned to suspicion. "What? What did I do this time?"_

_Annabeth cracked up. "You didn't forget _anything_, Percy. I just wanted to see the look on your face."_

_"_What_?" Percy's eyes narrowed in righteous indignation. "You _played_ me?"_

_"Guilty as charged," Annabeth admitted, grinning. "Like I said once, you're cute when you're worried."_

_Percy stared at her. "All that so you could see me _worried_? You don't have anything better to do with your time?" he asked, eyebrows scrunching together._

_"Yup, just about."_

_He cracked a smile. "That's impressive, even for you. You must have been desperate, Wise Girl."_

_She shrugged. "I was bored, and you were busy. I decided to get your attention."_

_He shook his head, still grinning. "Heck of a way to get my attention, Annabeth. F__or a second there,__ I thought you were going to run me through. I nearly died of fear."_

_She snorted, but a smirk crept over her face. "Run you through? Oh no, my dearest Seaweed Brain. I have a much more fitting punishment in mind for you."_

_Now she _really_ had him confused. "But . . . you just said . . . "_

_"Perseus Jackson," she announced, "you have forgotten a nonexistent milestone in our relationship! For that, the punishment is" - she paused dramatically - "a dip in the canoe lake!"_

_Slowly, the look in his eyes changed from discombobulated to amused. "You know, Wise Girl," he said, slipping his fingers through hers as they walked out of the arena together, "there are _easier_ ways to get an impromptu date with me."_

_She laughed. "Easy, Percy? If you wanted easy, you should have asked out a daughter of Aphrodite. I already told you that I'll never make things easy on you."_

_"Yeah, I know," he admitted, kissing her hair. "It's one of the very many things that I like about you." Suddenly, he grinned. "That doesn't mean I can't try to get you to give me a break every once in a while, though."_

_"You're welcome to try," Annabeth said, smiling up at her boyfriend. "That doesn't mean I'll listen."_

_But she had to admit, his underwater kisses almost convinced her._

_Almost._

* * *

Annabeth woke up to sunlight streaming through her cabin window. Somehow, while lost in memories, she'd managed to go back to Cabin Six, change into pajamas, and climb into bed. Then she had fallen asleep, which had hardly mattered because all her dreams had been memories as well.

She stretched, and Malcolm looked over at her from his desk.

"Good morning, Annabeth," he said. "You're up late."

"What time is it?"

"It's only eight-thirty. Early for a night owl, which most of us are." He grinned and jerked his head toward their siblings, most of whom were still snoring. "But you're usually up at six."

Annabeth pushed her hair out of her face and shrugged. "I had a late night."

Annabeth didn't add any more to that statement, and Malcolm didn't pry. But she thought back to her night on the canoe lake and smiled. Even though Percy was missing, he still managed to cheer her up.

* * *

All day, Annabeth smiled genuinely, instead of forcing her usual grins. She was happier than she'd been since Percy had disappeared.

She would help Leo build the _Argo II._ She would do her best to resolve conflicts between demigods. She would be the leader her camp needed. After all, she knew it was only a temporary burden. Annabeth would get her Seaweed Brain back eventually.

And in the meantime, she had countless memories to keep her going.

* * *

**Woo-hoo, Percabeth fluff! :D And did anyone get my "night owl" pun? Athena children? Night _owls_? Yeah, it was pretty bad. . . . ;)**

**Next chapter is Insanity. This is going to be a fun one. . . . *cackles mischievously***

**Reviews are appreciated! :)**


	12. Insanity

**Awww, some of the reviews I got for the last chapter were so sweet. . . . You guys are awesome, really. :D**

**Just so you know, my other stories take precedence over this one, so I'm sorry if updates are slower. Hopefully once HoH comes out (ONE MONTH AND SIX DAYS, AAAAAHHHHHHH), I will be able to pay more attention to this story.**

**For now, have this chapter! Geez, I had planned for this to be so much shorter and simpler and funnier than it turned out. . . . It's _so long_. And more serious than I expected. Oh well . . . Hope you enjoy it anyways!**

**This is dedicated to TheWeirdestMuse, who gave a suggestion for a Leo/OC story and didn't mind at all when I took the premise and changed it into a Nico/OC story. Also to SilverPen001, who asked for a Nico Tartarus scene. Maybe this counts . . . ?**

**I dunno. Happy reading! (By the way, there may or may not be one_ teeny-tiny_ bad word in this one, depending on whether you include the d-word as a curse. . . . Just a warning, since this story is technically rated K+.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

* * *

**12. Insanity**

Nico wasn't sure when his silver skull ring had gone missing. He had put it on this morning, as per usual, and it was only when he sat down to dinner and picked up his fork that he realized the the skull no longer shone on his finger.

He could have panicked; it would have been justified. After all, the ring was a gift from his father. But Nico wasn't the type of person who freaked out when one small thing went wrong. After Tartarus, it took a lot to set him on edge. So he just shrugged, kept on eating, and figured that he would find it somewhere random tomorrow, like in the stables, where he hadn't been all day. Strange things like that tended to happen at Camp Half-Blood.

* * *

Tomorrow came and went, along with the-day-after-tomorrow and the-day-after-the-day-after-tomorrow. Nico stayed calm. It would turn up eventually.

* * *

Then his aviator jacket went missing too.

* * *

Nico started to worry.

* * *

It wasn't just that he wore that coat practically every day, and that walking around without it made him feel practically naked. (Even though that was true.) It wasn't just that he was nervous about his skull ring falling into the wrong hands (read: the mischievous Stoll brothers or a child of Hecate), even though that was true as well - as a present from his father, the ring was a lot more powerful than Nico would dare to admit to anyone. But even those problems paled in comparison to what Nico was really worried about.

His experiences in Tartarus had left him a little off-kilter. Even after he got back to the surface, he had lost his appetite. He had insomnia. People glanced at him and shirked away like he had some terrible illness. (Granted, he was pretty sure he was suffering from PTSD, and that _was_ a terrible illness. But that's not what he meant.) And the worst part was, Nico _knew_ what they were afraid of. His eyes betrayed the horror of his experiences. Sometimes an event would drag up a memory of Tartarus, and he would start shaking uncontrollably. He had always been pale, but now he was as ghostly as the spirits in the Underworld. His aviator's jacket had always been too large, but before he was dragged into Tartarus, Nico had thought he was actually growing into it. The sleeves were just a tad bit long and only as baggy as aviator jacket-sleeves were _supposed_ to be. After Tartarus (and before said coat had vanished), they hung off his thin arms like wings. Nico wore it just to hide how prominently his bones showed through his skin. He never would have misplaced it on purpose. But if he was too crazy to remember what he did with his own stuff . . .

Nico winced at the very thought, but it seeped through him anyway, unavoidable and terrifying.

_Maybe he had finally cracked._

* * *

A few more days passed, and Nico managed to keep track of the rest of his stuff. He thought maybe his ring had just fallen off during sword-fighting that day and gotten buried in the sand. Maybe he had left his jacket in the forges while he was talking to Leo one day, and the son of Hephaestus had just figured that it was Jake's or Timothy's. There were plenty of logical explanations. Nico was being stupid for worrying.

Then Nico woke up one morning, and the copy of Dante's _Inferno _that had been resting on his nightstand was gone.

* * *

The next day, his super-incredibly-advanced headphones that Leo had upgraded for him disappeared. Nico wasn't even surprised anymore. He was sure he was insane now.

* * *

"Hey, Nico, are you okay?"

Nico opened his eyes. A certain cousin of his was staring down at him.

"Fine, Perce. Why do you ask?" His eyes drooped shut again.

"You've been lying motionless here on the lawn for over two hours, Nico. There's a rumor circulating that you can die and come back to life at will, and you've been practicing being dead all this time."

Nico snorted. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. People _believe _that?"

"The idiots do. Come on, Nico, get up. Go fly a pegasus. Feast on Cheetos. Swordfight. Do _something_."

"Can't," Nico muttered. "My sword's gone missing too."

Percy fell silent then, and Nico didn't blame him. The son of Poseidon was probably thinking the same thing he was. Nico kept his sword strapped at his belt at all times. So how had it disappeared? Nico only saw one explanation.

He had gone crazy, blacked out, and gotten rid of it himself.

* * *

That night, Percy forced Nico into going to the campfire. The son of Poseidon insisted that he needed some sort of social interaction. Nico disagreed, but there wasn't much he could do against the older, stronger demigod. He just allowed himself to be dragged to an empty space before plopping his head in his hands and tuning out the babble of voices around him.

Then one cheerful voice broke through the incoherent tangle of sounds. "Hi, Nico!" He lifted his head and looked to his right. Emily Cardwell was sitting next to him on the bench.

"What're you doing here, Em?"

"You haven't been eating, Angel boy," she said. "I'm concerned for your well-being. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Em. I'm fine."

"Mmm-hmmm. That's a lie, and you know it."

Nico tried not to look too pleased that Emily was worried about him. He supposed that out of all the demigods at camp, she was one of the most likely to notice and care. For one, she was _very_ ADHD, so she noticed a lot of things. Also, she was one of the few people who dared to talk to him frequently - who _liked_ to talk to him, even. But still . . . he hadn't thought they were _close_. After all, she had a whole massive cabin of siblings to keep her company, and Cabin Eleven was always together as one happy exclusive clique (mostly because they had to be around to protect each other when one of their pranks was discovered). She didn't hang out with him very often. Every time she _did_, it felt special, like he was getting complimented, somehow. Like she was silently saying, _Guess what, Angel boy? Right now, you're better company than my idiot brothers. Feel proud._

"Come on, Angel boy. You can tell me."

"It's nothing, Em," he said, rubbing a hand across his face. "It's just . . . I've lost a lot of important stuff recently, and I don't know where it is."

"_Important stuff_?" Emily's voice sounded odd, and she wouldn't look him in the eyes. "What important stuff?"

Nico shrugged, suddenly wishing the conversation would be over. It was quickly turning into a therapy session, which was the last thing Nico could ever want. "I don't know, Em, _stuff_," he said. "My skull ring. My jacket. One of my books. My headphones. Even my flipping _sword_! How in Hades am I supposed to fight without that thing?"

Emily was silent for a long time. "I'm sorry, Nico," she said eventually, and she sounded surprisingly sincere for a daughter of Hermes. "I didn't realize . . . "

"It's not your fault, but . . . Gods, Em, I can't find any of it!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't help but wonder if maybe . . . maybe Tartarus made me crazy. Maybe I went insane and threw all those things in the ocean and didn't even know that I did it."

"No, Nico, I'm sure that's not . . . "

"Face it, Em!" Nico sounded a little hysterical, but he didn't bother controlling himself. After all, crazy people flipped out sometimes, didn't they? "I'm a _nutcase_. Gods, I thought that after the Giant War I would get over it, but I didn't. Percy and Annabeth had had each other to get through their time in Tartarus, but I was alone. I faced Gaea and torture and a Styx-load of other things down there, all by myself. I guess it's no surprise that I'm a little crazy now, huh?"

"Oh my gods, Nico, don't think like that," Em said softly. "You're not crazy. Your stuff will turn up soon, I just know it. Don't worry." She laid a hand on Nico's shoulder. He was so shocked that a living, breathing human being had touched him that it slightly depressed him. He really _was _a social outcast, if he couldn't even get _comforted_ without freaking out.

"Thanks for trying, Em, but you can't deny the truth," he sighed. "I'm a certified basket-case, crazy enough to have my own spot on Looney Tunes. I'm resigned to the fact. You might as well be too."

Emily shook her head vehemently. "You're not crazy, Nico," she promised. "You're _not_. And I'm going to prove it to you."

Nico wasn't sure how she planned to do that, but he appreciated that she was trying. Someone actually cared enough to want to fix his shattered sanity. That was a compliment all by itself.

* * *

Emily slid into the seat next to Nico's at his table. "Hey, Angel boy," she said.

"You're not supposed to change tables during meals, Em."

She ignored him completely. "So I've been thinking about the items you lost, and I was wondering . . . Did you check under your bed for your book? Maybe it fell off the nightstand, and you just didn't notice."

"I checked, Em," he insisted.

"Well, I really think you should check again."

"Em, I'm eating breakfast," he said. "Can't it wait?" It was kind of Emily to pay attention to his problems, but he didn't want her to get her hopes up too high. His stuff was all missing. It was pointless to keep looking.

"Oh, _please_." She rolled her eyes. "You're not eating, you're building a scrambled-egg castle and _moping_. Go shove the rest of that into the flames so that it actually gets put to use, and then come _on_."

Gods of _Olympus_, Emily Cardwell was a hard girl to say no to. Nico stopped bothering to argue and did as he was told. As soon as he set his plate back down, she grabbed his hand and practically _dragged_ him out of the dining hall, oblivious to the weird looks they got. For the first time in months, Nico was pretty sure his skin was a color other than ghost-white. It was now flushing dark red.

She pulled him through camp until they reached his cabin, all black walls and green torches and silver skull decorations. Emily grinned. "Man, every time I see this place, it just seems cooler and cooler."

Nico rolled her eyes. "Let's just go in and get this over with, okay?"

They walked in together, Nico slouching skeptically and Emily bouncing on the balls of her feet, smiling. "Check under the bed, Nico! It's going to be there, I just know it!" She was almost _singing_. Nico hadn't seen her this cheerful in a long time.

Nico shot her a weird look and then dropped to the floor, trying not to think about the fact that Emily was _in his bedroom._ He glared at the wall in front of him, as if that would keep his face from reddening. _Get your head out of the gutter, di Angelo_, he scolded himself. So he did. He yanked his head out of the gutter and stuck it under the bed. Gods, he had no _idea _how much dust was under there. He could have sworn that it hadn't been this bad when he had looked for _Inferno_ last _week_!

Nico tried to fight off an allergy attack and failed. He sneezed rapidly and banged his head on the bed springs in the process.

"Everything okay down there, Angel boy? You find it?"

Nico was prepared to say "Nope; sorry, Em" - had started in with a "Nuh-", in fact, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something rectangular. And made of very thin strips of wood pulp. With the word _Inferno_ printed in gold ink across the spine.

His stomach dropped into his shoes - hard to do while lying horizontally on a stone floor, but somehow it managed - and he pushed the book behind him and out from under the bed. Then he inched backwards himself.

When he got out, covered in dust and grime, Emily was holding the book and grinning. "See? You found it! You're not crazy after all!"

Nico took _Inferno_ out of Emily's hand and laid it back on his nightstand, his face unreadable. Inside, he felt like other organs were dropping in to say hi to his stomach.

Emily looked at his expression and frowned. "You found it, Nico. Isn't that a _good_ thing?"

He hadn't planned on raising his voice, but his frustration just _exploded_ out of him. He only hoped Emily wouldn't be too offended. "No, it's not a _good_ thing!" he yelled. "In fact, this is _worse_ than before! I'd looked under the bed before, and_ it wasn't there_! How could it just _appear_ there between then and now?" Emily looked at him, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears. Instantly, Nico felt guilty. His anger deflated, and he walked over and dropped onto his bed. "I'll tell you how," he muttered, looking at the floor. "The last time I looked, I was too out of it to see the book sitting right in front of my nose. I almost missed it this time. Gods, Emily, it was there, and I missed it completely." He flopped backwards and covered his eyes with one careless hand. "Tell me, Em, what sounds more insane than that?"

Silence, for so long Nico was sure that she'd walked out of the room, and he'd missed her exit just like he'd missed the book. Then she sat carefully down next to him. "Lots of things," she told him. "Lots of things are more insane than that. Stop worrying so much. I have a feeling all your lost things will turn up sooner or later. Then you'll know that you lost them. You didn't toss them in the ocean, like you're afraid of."

Nico smiled weakly and decided to humor her. "If you say so, Em." He paused awkwardly. "Thanks for . . . you know. Putting up with me and my insanity."

"You're my _friend_, Angel boy. It's in the job description."

Nico hadn't been aware that they were _friends_. If he had had to guess based on previous encounters, he would have called them friendly _acquaintances_. They talked on occasion, but they didn't spend a lot of time together. But here Emily was, helping him sort out his issues and calling him a friend. It was enough to make Nico move his hand away from his eyes and look at her. "You're the best, Em. You're trying so hard to help me . . . I'm only sorry I'm not fixable."

"Nico di Angelo, you are most certainly fixable! And I will fix you if I have to bribe Mr. D to get the job done!" Emily smiled at him then, but her eyes looked troubled. Nico didn't blame her. She was looking at a friend who had gone crazy. If Nico was in her place, his eyes would be a little troubled too. "And like I said, Angel boy," she added quietly, "I'm your friend. I'd help you anytime, although hopefully you won't need me more than just this once. So you don't have to thank me. In fact, don't mention it - ever. Please. You owe me nothing."

* * *

Nico wandered through the rest of the day in a muddled confusion. In the forest, he saw monsters instead of trees. Sea monsters replaced the naiads in the lake. The bright green grass in the commons withered into a tangle of black, dead vines. He saw Gaea's face on the lava climbing wall. Stone filled the gaps in the open air dining hall, so that Nico was sure he was stuck in the cave Gaea had kept him in during his stay in Tartarus. Other people's faces flickered between friend and enemy, demigod and monster.

Finally, Nico couldn't take the outside world anymore. He had cracked, and being around other people was driving him even more over the edge. As soon as he could leave the dining hall without being conspicuous, Nico hurried to his cabin and crashed onto his bed. He didn't want to fall asleep because he knew the nightmares would come, but he didn't have anything to do while his headphones were missing. _Inferno_ was more tiring than sitting on his bed doing nothing at all, so he didn't bother picking that up. Instead, he tried to think. He thought about how unfair it was that Percy and Annabeth had stopped having frequent nightmares six months ago, but that didn't keep him going long. He couldn't be jealous of the two demigods he admired most, the two people who had taken care of him back when he was a selfish, stupid, grieving little kid. They deserved to be happy.

Then he thought about how annoying it was that all his favorite things were missing, but he dismissed the idea almost immediately. He only felt apathy towards that now - apathy and a growing fear that they weren't missing at all, that if he could just remember, he would know what he had done with them. But he didn't want to linger on that thought; he was depressed and crazy enough as it was.

Finally, he thought about Emily. She was way too nice to him, but she didn't act like she felt obligated to be that way. She went to find him at the campfire because she _wanted_ to. She told him to start looking for his things again because she _worried_ about him. That thought kept Nico awake for a while, simply because he didn't understand how anyone not related to him could care that much about his well-being. But eventually, he couldn't help himself. He drifted off into the worst nightmare he'd had in a month.

* * *

_The hot bronze blade pressed against his arm. Nico barely stopped a scream, but he couldn't suppress the tears that escaped the corners of his eyes._

_"Tell me, son of Hades," Prometheus growled. "What is Jason Grace's fatal flaw?"_

_Nico ground his teeth. "I don't know."_

_Prometheus pulled his sword away, which only made the burn on his arm sting in the open air. "I think you do," he said softly. "Tell me."_

_Nico forced one eye open and glared at the Titan with it. "Go to hell. Oh wait, you're already here."_

_Prometheus's eyes narrowed, and he thrust his sword into Nico's shoulder. As if the pain of getting stabbed wasn't bad enough, the heat of the blade blistered everything from his skin to his muscle. This time, Nico couldn't hold back a scream._

_Prometheus laughed. The sound was empty of any real emotion. "I can make you feel pain far worse than _that_, son of Hades. Now tell me, what is Jason Grace's fatal flaw?" Nico stayed silent, and Prometheus's mouth hardened. "Tell me, or I'll peel the skin off your forearm with this sword. And I can promise you that that won't feel nice." He grinned savagely. "I've been subject to torture for thousands of years, demigod. Now that Gaea has freed me, I can't _wait_ to reciprocate some of that pain towards the spawn of the gods. And since Hades was the one who watched my punishment happen for all those eons, it seems fitting that I start with his child. But I can be reasonable. I can negotiate. Tell me the fatal flaws of the seven demigods, and I'll stop."_

_"What makes you think I even _know_?" Nico retorted._

_"You've hovered between both camps for over a year, demigod. You've had personal encounters with each one of the seven. That gives you a unique perspective." His next words were frigid. "I advise you to at least make an educated _guess_, or you'll feel pain beyond your most terrifying nightmares." He smiled like a snake. "You're a clever boy, godspawn. Who knows? You might even guess correctly."_

_Nico took a shallow breath, feeling a stab of pain in his torso as he did. His ribs were still mostly broken from the last session. "I don't know what Jason's fatal flaw is, Prometheus," he said. "But I'll tell you what _mine_ is. I hold grudges. And let me tell you, I'll get out of here one day. And when I do, I won't forget this. I will find you again, and I will pay you back in full for any pain you cause me." He looked Prometheus full in the face, and he could see a hesitation in the Titan's eyes. Nico pressed his words home. "You think getting your liver picked out was bad? The pain I'll make you feel will have you squealing like a Clazmonian sow." And with that, Nico spit in the Titan's face._

_At that, the worry in Prometheus's eyes was replaced by anger. Nico knew he had gone too far. "Maybe one day, son of Hades," he said smoothly. "But today, you'll be the one squealing."_

_Nico managed to refrain from squealing . . . but he couldn't help but scream in pain as Prometheus's searing hot blade left burns over every inch of exposed skin. Burns as red as blood._

* * *

Nico jerked awake, panting. His skin tingled all over. Nectar had healed his burns, but in certain lighting, Nico swore that the scars of his pain were still visible.

His stomach clenched sharply, and Nico realized that the stab of pain from his dream had been real. But it hadn't been caused by broken ribs, just hunger. Yesterday, he had picked at his food at breakfast and skipped lunch and dinner all together, and now his stomach was begging for a meal. It was funny how he had gone without food for so long in Tartarus that he had stopped being hungry, but now that he was back on a (semi-)regular meal schedule, just one day without sustenance sent hunger pangs shooting through his body.

Nico climbed out of bed and was almost at the door when he remembered that he was wearing yesterday's clothes as well. Figuring that people stared at him enough as it was, he decided to change and veered off to his closet to look for a fresh shirt. When he threw open the doors, he groaned and covered his eyes with his hands. _This could not be happening. He was still asleep._

He risked another peek through his fingers, but the scene in front of him hadn't changed. Nico shook his head and sat down hard on the floor.

He was _sure_ that he had looked in his closet countless times over the last week . . . But he must _really_ be losing it, because on all those occasions, he had somehow failed to notice something.

His lost aviator jacket was hanging in the middle of the rack.

* * *

Eventually, Nico overcame his fear of insanity enough to snatch a shirt, yank it on, and hurry to the dining hall. His stomach had won out, at least temporarily.

Breakfast passed without incident, but Nico hadn't forgotten about the mysterious coat in his closet. He hurried back to see if he might have imagined the whole thing, but as soon as he opened the door, he realized what a bad idea _that_ had been.

He should have left his closet locked and never peeked inside again.

Because his supposedly-missing headphones were resting on the shelf above his aviator jacket, and he hadn't seen _those_ before either.

* * *

That same day, Percy came to Nico with a look of confusion on his face. "I thought you said you'd lost your sword, Nico," he said.

"I _did_," Nico answered, suddenly wary. He had a bad feeling about what the son of Poseidon was about to say . . .

"But you _didn't_," Percy said. "You couldn't have. It was sitting in plain sight on a table in the armory. You must have been sharpening it in there, gotten distracted by something, and forgotten that you'd left it." He pulled his left hand out from behind his back and presented the Stygian iron blade to Nico.

"Look," he said with an encouraging smile. "You don't have to worry. You didn't lose it after all."

Nico tried not to look too miserable in front of Percy. "Thanks, man," he mumbled before sticking his sword into his belt and hurrying away.

One thought was whirling through his head.

_But I_ checked _the armory . . . Five times . . . _

* * *

Emily found him three hours later.

"Nico . . . why are you lying in the middle of a row of strawberry plants? Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"Naw," he muttered, trying not to give away how frazzled he felt. "They don't have thorns."

With his eyes closed, he felt rather than saw the daughter of Hermes sit next to him. "What's wrong, Angel boy? Is your stuff still missing?"

He opened one eye a crack and looked at her. "No," he mumbled. "I have the opposite problem. All my stuff is _reappearing_."

Emily frowned. "I still don't see how that's a bad thing."

"Be-_cause_, Em!" He sighed and turned on his side, shielding the sun with one hand so he could see her better. "Look," he said slowly, "I've spent the last week looking _everywhere_ for my stuff. I've checked every _inch_ of camp. I've combed through my cabin _ten times_. But yesterday, I found my book under my bed. I discovered my jacket and my headphones in my closet this morning. Percy gave me my sword and told me that it had just been sitting in the armory in plain sight. All these things had been sitting _in plain sight_, Em! How could I have missed them? I _must_ be going insane!" He shook his head. "There's no other explanation. Tartarus made me crazy."

Emily clapped a hand over her mouth. Nico was startled to see tears welling in her eyes. "Don't say that, Nico," she pleaded. "There _must_ be another explanation. A _reasonable_ explanation."

Nico felt bad for making Emily so upset, but he couldn't live in a delusion. He had to face the truth. "Do you see one, Em?" he asked her. She stayed silent, but her tears started falling. "That's what I thought."

"No . . . " she whispered. "Don't . . . "

"Thanks for trying, Em," he said, "and thanks for being so optimistic. But even you can't change the truth."

He couldn't watch her cry. He pushed himself to his feet, even though he felt like his world was falling apart around him, and turned his back on her. "I'm sorry, Em," he said softly. And he left her in the middle of the strawberry fields, sobbing.

* * *

The nightmares came back that night, worse than before. Nico felt like he woke up every ten minutes, heart pounding, drenched in sweat, a scream on his lips. He hated himself for it, but eventually the nightmares got so bad that Nico turned on the only lamp in his cabin - a room that was _supposed_ to be dark and Goth and cool. He was a son of _Hades_, for gods' sakes! He shouldn't _want_ light, let alone _need_ it!

But he did. He couldn't help himself. He turned on the light, and he dragged his blanket over to it, and he bundled into the throw and fell asleep in a tangle of sheets, with the comforting light barely ten inches from his nose.

The nightmares still came.

But at least now he didn't have to hyperventilate for five minutes after he woke up, thinking he was still in Tartarus. No, the lamp reassured him that he was on the surface right away. There was no light in Tartarus.

* * *

"You look awful, Angel boy. Did you sleep at all last night?"

Nico couldn't believe Emily had still sought him out, after he had left her alone the day before. He wouldn't have blamed her if she hadn't wanted anything to do with him ever again. In fact, he would have been glad. She needed a better influence in her life than a crazed son of Hades. But apparently, Emily didn't care about having good influences. She was back at his side once again. Although if he was being honest, Nico was surprised that she had been able to find him at all. He was hanging out in a patch of grass behind the canoe shed, in an area where nobody went. But he supposed that she _was _a child of Hermes. They snuck around in the weirdest places. She'd probably hidden behind the canoe shed dozens of times.

"Yoo-hoo? Earth to Nico? You in there?"

Nico forced a small smile. "Sorry, Em. I'm listening. And I _did_ sleep last night, I promise." He wasn't _lying_; he was just leaving out important details, like the fact that the only sleep he had gotten was more exhausting than restful.

Emily was skeptical. "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Yeah," Nico told her. Again, not a lie. He'd managed to down a quarter of a half of a slice of toast before the crowds of people had him running out of the dining hall. Sometimes he couldn't stand being alone - it reminded him of being stranded in that bronze jar, with nothing to do but eat pomegranate seeds and dream of escape. But usually he couldn't bear to be in a crowd either - large amounts of people made him feel claustrophobic, which also reminded him of the bronze jar. . . . Yeah, he was _definitely _nuts.

"You still don't look well," Emily said softly. "Is there anything I can do?"

Nico shook his head. "You can't fix a crazy person, Em. Last I checked, you're not a psychiatrist."

Silence dropped onto them like a shroud. Nico felt terrible for dragging Emily into his depression, but he really _had_ tried to stop her. She had followed him willingly.

A bee buzzed around them, but even it didn't bother them for long. Nico figured that the poor bee had only been looking for the sweet scent of flowers, and it had been scared off by Nico, who probably stank of hopelessness and insanity.

The canoe water lapped against the shore in the background. Someone shouted in happiness as they soared over their heads on a pegasus.

"What if I _could_ fix you, Nico?" Emily said suddenly. "What if-"

Nico couldn't take any more. "Stop with your _damn_ optimism, Em! _Crazy people can't be fixed!_"

Emily flinched, and Nico instantly regretted his anger. He clapped a hand over his mouth and spoke through his fingers. "Oh my gods . . . I'm sorry, Em. I'm sorry for cursing at you, and I'm sorry for yelling. It was mean and unfair and stupid of me."

Slowly, Emily shook her head. "It's okay," she whispered. "You don't need to apologize. But . . . Nico, I know you think crazy people can't be fixed. But what if you're _not_ crazy?"

Nico sighed. "Emily, where in Hades are you going to find something that proves that I'm not crazy?"

Emily bit her lip. Her eyes shone with tears, but her voice was steady when she said, "I _do_ have something, Nico."

He waited.

Hesitantly, Emily reached into her pocket and stretched her right hand towards him. Laying in her open palm was a silver skull ring.

Nico's mouth dropped open. He took the ring from her and slipped it onto his finger, baffled. "Gods, Em! Where'd you _find_ that?" His momentary excitement faded into resignation, and he sighed. "Let me guess. It was sitting on my dining table, in plain sight, wasn't it?"

Emily winced. "No. I . . . I didn't have to find it, Nico."

Nico stared at her. "I don't understand."

"I'm so sorry, Nico," she whispered. "But I'm the one who took it in the first place."

* * *

Nico wasn't mad. He felt nothing but a terrifying black hole of confusion and emotionlessness.

"You . . . _took_ . . . ?" He couldn't process this. "You saw how messed-up I was . . . and you _took_ . . . ?"

The tears in Emily's eyes spilled into sobs. "I'm sorry . . . " she gasped out. "So sorry . . . I didn't think . . . when I took them . . . "

For a long time, her words were a jumble of apologies and tears. Nico couldn't make any sense of them. He just sat there, frozen in place while Emily calmed down. She had stolen his stuff. She was the reason that he'd spent the last week in a daze of insanity and fear. But for some reason, he felt like _he_ should be the one comforting _her_.

Finally, she stopped crying and dried her face on her sleeve. She looked stubbornly at the ground. "I'm sorry," she said for the thousandth time. "But . . . You know how the Aphrodite cabin used to have that induction ritual where they had to break someone's heart? Well, Cabin Eleven has their own tradition. We have to steal five things from somebody - important things that we know the person will miss. We get extra points if we can . . . " She took a deep breath. "If we can pickpocket them right off the person."

"So you . . . chose _me_?"

"I never meant to hurt you," she said miserably. "I figured if I could steal stuff from a child of the Big Three, I'd get more recognition. Travis and Connor would take notice of me. I'm a pretty new camper, you know, a novice compared to the rest of them. I thought maybe doing something big for my induction would get me more respect." She rubbed a hand across her eyes. "I stole your things over the space of a few days. Travis and Connor were really impressed by me. I . . . " She laughed, a harsh, choking sound. "I felt so proud. But then I saw how upset you were."

She drew in a rattling breath. "I never would have guessed that taking your things would make you think you were going _crazy_. You have to believe me, Nico. It was supposed to be a harmless prank. But then I talked to you at the campfire . . . I saw how upset you were, and I knew what I had done was stupid. I never should have stolen stuff from you, Nico. I should have known that after everything you'd been through in Tartarus, something that would just be annoying to anyone else would freak you out. You were right to be so anxious and shook-up, Nico. I felt _so_ guilty. But I thought . . . I figured I had the perfect solution. I'd just put your stuff back. No harm, no foul, and all that. But that didn't work out either, did it?" She laughed again, probably to try and hide how upset she looked. It didn't work.

"Gods, I freaked you out so badly. . . ." She burst into tears. "I can tell you've been . . . having bad nightmares again, and you . . . stopped . . . _eating_, and you've been thinking . . . that you're crazy . . . for over a _week_, and it's _all my fault_." She took a deep breath through her tears. "I knew I couldn't just put your ring back. It would be the last confirmation you needed to be sure that you were insane. I would have to watch you deteriorate slowly - because when someone thinks that they're a basket-case, it's only a matter of time before they turn into one for real. I would have to watch you go crazy, knowing it was _all my fault_, and that would be the worst punishment of all, for both you and me. You deserve to be _happy_, Nico. I couldn't watch you anymore. I knew I had to confess. I knew that it would destroy any chance of us being—" She cut off abruptly and covered her face with her hands. "You probably won't ever forgive me, and I completely understand. I was an _idiot_. I shouldn't have been so selfish. I just hope . . . " For the first time, Emily looked straight at Nico. Her blue eyes were unhappy, guilty, and shattered, like a thin sheen of ice over a lake was cracking. Nico had never seen her like this. "You believe me, right, Nico?" she whispered. "You understand that you're _not crazy_, right? Because if you believe that, then it's all worth it."

Nico didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether to feel angry, sad, relieved, confused, or empty. He just looked at the ring shining brightly on his finger, as if it had never disappeared. "I believe you," he said quietly. "In fact, I think I—"

But before he could keep going, Emily cut him off. "Good," she whispered. "Then you probably don't want me around anymore. I'll just . . . leave." She stood and walked away - one more thing in Nico's life that was vanishing into thin air. But at least this time, Nico could choose whether he wanted her back or not.

* * *

Surprisingly, the next few days weren't as carefree as Nico had expected. Sure, he now knew that he wasn't crazy, but the nightmares still came every night. Those hadn't really been Emily's fault. They had always been Gaea's.

Besides, Nico missed her conversations that felt like compliments. He missed having a reliable friend. And could he even say he just missed . . . her? Sure, she had taken his things, but it hadn't been a cruel jibe, just another cabin induction. And as soon as she realized how much the prank had rattled him, she had tried to set things right. And in the end, she _did_ set things right. Nico knew it must have taken a lot of courage to own up to what she had done, especially after he had yelled at her. He knew the things people said about him. He knew people were scared of him. The crack in the dining hall floor was a constant reminder to everyone of his temper, even if Nico was pretty sure he had that under control by now. Emily must have been worried about how he would react, but she had confessed anyway. She had been an amazing friend after all. And gods, Nico could even say he _admired_ her for it.

That settled it. He didn't want their friendship to disappear. Nico knew what he had to do.

* * *

The next day, Nico waited for Emily to enter the dining hall. When she did, he stifled a smile. Her normally dark hair was dyed fuchsia.

Nico waited for twenty minutes - to give her time to eat - before walking over to the Hermes table. "That's a good look on you," he commented casually.

"Gods, don't you dare say _anything_," she complained. "Chris _swears_ it wasn't him, but I would bet twelve drachmas—" She cut off as soon as she looked up and realized who she was talking to. "Oh. Hi, Nico," she whispered. "What are you . . . ?"

He grinned, which obviously caught her by surprise. "Oh, I just came to see if you got the present I left you."

"What? I didn't get any . . . " Her mouth dropped open, and she grabbed a fistful of hair. Her eyes sparked. "This was _you_?"

He full-out laughed, which earned him a few stares, like children of the Underworld weren't allowed to enjoy themselves or something. Well, they could all go to Hades. He would laugh if he wanted to. This was _fun_. "Well, you pranked me," he told her. "I had to return the favor _somehow_."

If it was possible, her jaw lowered even more.

"Come on, Em," he said. "We need to talk."

Speechless, Emily Cardwell got up and followed him back to the patch of grass behind the canoe shed. He sat down and gestured for her to copy him. She knelt down. Neither of them said a word for a few minutes, and then Emily blurted out, "Dye doesn't _work_ on my hair, Angel boy. It's too dark. How'd you pull this off?"

He grinned. "Like I'd tell you. You're a daughter of Hermes. You'd use the trick on _me_ as soon as my guard was down."

The nervousness that seemed painted on Emily's expression lessened a little. "I guess that's fair."

They were quiet for a few more minutes, and then Emily bit her lip and asked, "So does this mean you're not mad at me?"

Nico shook his head. "I don't think I was ever mad at you, Emily Cardwell. It wasn't your fault for wanting to prove yourself to your siblings. Besides, you set things right in the end." He paused. "And anyway, I dyed your hair pink. We're even."

Emily's eyes were shining again, but with happiness rather than tears. "Really?"

"Of course."

For once, the silence that followed was comfortable instead of tense. Nico was pleased to see that they could just sit in each other's company and be perfectly at ease. They didn't need words to fill the empty space. Most impressive of all, _Nico_ didn't need words to fill the empty space. The quiet didn't remind him of Tartarus, where the darkness smothered all noise. No, he couldn't be reminded of Tartarus while he was sitting here in the sunshine. Especially - oh gods, he couldn't believe he was admitting this - because he was sitting here in the sunshine with Emily.

Slowly, Nico realized that Emily wanted to say something, but was hesitant to break the silence. He wasn't sure how he knew - it was something in the way she was sitting, half-tilted towards him, mouth slightly open, eyes questioning. When had he started to know her body language so well?

Nico turned towards her. "You have something to say," he told her. It wasn't a question.

Emily jumped, and then gave him a sheepish look. "That obvious, huh?"

He shrugged awkwardly. "Not really. I just know you, Em."

For some reason, his words sent a flush creeping over her cheeks. She hesitated. "Okay," she said finally. "Well, this is really random, but I just realized . . . I've never told you why I call you 'Angel boy'."

Nico grinned. "_That's_ what you've been thinking of? I already _know_ why, Em. It's because my last name is di Angelo, and it's also a pun because I'm a son of Hades."

"No, that's not it." For the first time in days, a faint smile slid across her face. "Okay, maybe that's it partially, but that's not the main reason. Mainly it's because you're as perfect as an angel to me."

Gods of Olympus, _that_ was a change in the conversation that Nico hadn't been expecting. He furrowed his eyebrows and turned to look at her, his heart starting to pound. "Emily . . . I'm a son of Hades. I have weird creepy death powers. Also PTSD."

She shrugged. "Still perfect. Creepy death powers and all."

Nico still felt like he was getting complimented every time Emily spoke to him, simply because she was bothering to speak to him at all. But now he was getting an _actual_ compliment. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"If I went to a psychologist, they'd classify me as clinically insane, Em," he warned.

"We see _monsters_, Nico," Emily said softly. "A psychologist would classify _any_ demigod as clinically insane." Instead of turning around, she leaned closer, her eyes very large and very blue. His heart thumped harder.

"Maybe," he admitted, "but I'm even _more _insane than an average demigod. You don't understand." He wanted to clap a hand over his own mouth. He thought they had resolved all of the barriers between them. Why was he still trying to convince her to walk away, when all he wanted was to hold her tight and never let go?

Perhaps because not letting go of Emily Cardwell would quite possibly be the cruelest thing Nico could ever do. Just because the mystery of his missing stuff had been resolved didn't mean that Nico didn't have other issues. It wasn't right to ask someone to put up with all the difficulties that came with a guy like him. The nightmares in broad daylight, the haunted look in his eyes, the ghosts that followed him around . . . all of it. It wasn't fair to Emily. Maybe she was a daughter of Hermes, and maybe she had played some pranks, but she was a good person. She deserved better than him.

"I've got lots of problems, Em," he told her. "I'm in danger all the time - even more so than regular demigods because I'm a child of the Big Three. Also, I have PTSD. I'm crazy - one hundred percent _nuts_. You'd be better off with _anyone_ else."

Emily shook her head. Her mouth set in a hard line. "I thought we'd resolved this, Nico! _You're not crazy._ Your problems make you real. They make you human. They don't make you worse than other people. In fact, they make you _stronger._ You battle your problems every day, and you're _winning_. You're _better _than anyone else, not worse." She crossed her arms. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Angel boy."

Nico hesitated. Emily deserved better. But if she insisted . . .

He took a deep breath. "In that case . . . " he said slowly. "For what it's worth, I think you're perfect too. Pickpocketing abilities and all."

Her mouth quirked up at the end, betraying her happiness. Her eyes shone. "Really?" she asked again.

"Of course," he repeated.

There was a beat of silence, and then she broke into a full smile that stretched beautifully across her whole face. "Good," she said. "I'd hate for us to have an unbalanced relationship."

Nico stared. "A . . . _relationship_ . . . ?"

Emily laughed. "Yes, Angel boy. Relationship. And I meant that word to have _exactly_ the definition that you're thinking of, in case you're wondering. It's just a more sophisticated term than 'dating-thingy'."

Nico was speechless, but it didn't really matter because he didn't have time for words. As soon as she finished speaking, Emily wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

Nico decided that if he really was going crazy, then he didn't mind.

In fact, he rather liked insanity.

* * *

**Wow . . . Okay, so that just happened. My third oneshot to break 8,000 words. . . . Gosh, I need to write something shorter. :P**

**Also, haha, the pink-hair-prank . . . Obviously, he told her his secret eventually, and she spilled it to Travis and Connor. . . . At least, it _should_ be obvious, if you remember what _exactly_ happened to Nico in "Dark", the fourth chapter in this. Just thought I'd point that out. . . . ;)**

**Reviews are appreciated! :D**


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